Making sense of things
by Bob the Bill Dups
Summary: SI. My life is complicated and it always has been, when things reach breaking point i look for any way out. Now i'm here in a new place where the world makes even less sense than before...oh and the whole world's at war...lucky me right?
1. Careful what you wish for

**Disclaimer: I clearly do not own Avatar the last air bender. Does it even need to be said?**

* * *

"And don't come back you little piece of shit!"

It would seem Thursday had come early… hold on, maybe I should explain. You see my life tends to follow patterns, and this particular pattern is determined by the days of the week, Monday is usually uneventful and it seems to be that way for everyone now that I think about it, everyone down to the teachers at school love to complain about how slow and tedious it is.

Tuesday is where things tend to pick up, dad's unemployment benefit comes in and the pantry gets stocked...sometimes…you see it depends on how much alcohol my dad ends up buying that day, sometimes he thinks he needs a little more to get him through the week.

Dad doesn't normally start drinking hard until Wednesday at which time I start trying to make myself scarce, I usually get a few hours of peace before he starts to become a verbal drunk but thankfully the TV keeps his attention occupied while he yells at what I am pretty sure are the same re-runs of the same rugby games but hey, I'm not complaining.

It's Thursday when the TV starts to lose it magical powers of distraction and things start to head south, the slightest thing will send him into a rage, I've gotten pretty good a avoiding him but by the end of the day he's normally got some reason to follow me around hurling abuse.

Friday's the day that constant alcohol abuse and sleep deprivation push him to the edge and he becomes physical, hence my nice home away from home in the tree house I doubt he even remembers building me for my 6th birthday judging by the fact he has never once found me there, it's more of a habit now than a necessity though, ever since I started fighting back the violent dad has made fewer appearances.

Normally by midday Saturday dad has reached his remorseful phase, the drunken apologies come out in force and he can be pretty convincing… but not to me, I guess the weekly repetitions have rendered me immune to that particular brand of bullshit.

Sunday rolls around and the booze is becoming sparse which normally means dad has gone out in search of his precious poison at the nearest pub and oh happy day! I have the whole house to myself! The dirty, stained and smelly piss-hole that it is. By the time dad stumbles back home at some unholy hour the house is clean and ready for his next week of abuse.

So there, that's the typical week in the life of Hunter-can't turn 18 fast enough-Heke and considering I just turned 16, there seems to be many more weeks left in this cycle.

But hey, back to the present with me slamming the door behind me while my drunken excuse for a father makes unintelligible threats he won't remember tomorrow.

It's at times like these that people turn to their friends and family to help and I'm no different, well aside from the fact my family is the cause of the problem but that's unfortunately not a unique situation here in south Auckland, so I'm on my way to see my friend and by 'my friend' I mean the only real friend I have in the world which I suppose is pretty sad for a 16 year old but friends are there for you and there is only one person who has been there for me that I can remember and that's Joe, the owner of and instructor at the local self-defense school, I suppose it's fitting that a 9 year old me ends up hiding behind there the first time dad chased me out of the house. Ever since he found me that day he's been my best friend, he took me under his wing at the gym, he always had food for me which was great because there was practically none at home, he even tried to get child-protection services involved, obviously that didn't work out on account of them being…ah how did Joe phrase it? That's right, a useless bunch of wankers who should do the world a favor and jump off the harbor bridge.

But I guess the best thing he gave me was a place to work out my issues, instead of exploding at school and getting myself into a whole new world of trouble he had me work it all out on the bags, on the mats and every other piece of equipment or willing person that happened to be around. More than once I've heard him ask himself if teaching an angry kid Krav maga was a good idea but hey, no trouble with school or the police just yet so it can't be that bad.

 _Speak of the devil, couldn't have timed it better if I tried._ I thought as I walked through the gym doors and saw Joe walking out of the changing rooms in his gear.

"Hey Hunter" he said with his usual grin, "didn't think you were coming in today".

"Thursday came early" I reply by way of explanation though it's all he needs to hear being the only one entrusted with my weekly schedule.

"Ah shit mate, anything I can do?"

"Yeah, be ready on the mats in half hour" I say grinning as I turn and walk off to the changing rooms. There really is nothing like a good work out to get your mind off things and getting my ass handed to me by Joe is the best workout of all (masochism jokes aside), seven years of training under him and he still gets me 9 times out of ten, "I guess that's why he's the instructor and I'm the student" I think chuckling to myself.

Eventually after an extended warm up/venting session I find myself on the mats in front of him looking for an opening, we slowly circle each other neither too eager to rush in. I was considerably bigger than him even at 16, but he was easily my match in strength, he had that type of strength that older fighters always seem to have without looking like it, but thanks to his training I was his match for speed, he always had me working on my speed saying that a kid as big as I was would catch a lot of people off guard by being fast.

Unfortunately he seemed to sense that my focus slipped and I barely dodged back avoiding his punches. Great barely 20 seconds in and I'm already hard on the defense.

Deciding to get off my ass and use my reach I throw a few well-placed jabs of my own forcing him off, deciding to press the attack I move in throwing a combination of my own, unfortunately my punches lacked their usual speed and being the merciless ass he was he stepped in close, planted a solid one in my gut and I found myself slightly winded and grappling, that went about as well as it usually did, which is to say he toyed around for close to a minute tiring me out before making his move when all of a sudden things seemed to slow like we were fighting underwater, I could see his shoulders tensing in preparation to move, I could see him moving his leg into position to throw me…and I saw my opening, as fast as I could I threw is arm up over me and ducked under it, sensing his mistake he tried to move out but it was too late, I had my arms locked around his waist and was already lifting, I grinned - _Suplex baby!-_ and flexed backward bringing him down as softly as was possible with the throw before rolling away back into the ready stance.

He blinked up at me for a second as if trying to process that I got the better of him before he grinned and rolled to his feet pulling a knife sheath from his belt. (Looks like we're covering all the bases today) I thought, returning his smile.

The spar was exactly what I needed, long and tiring, by the time it was over I had a nice set of bruises which wasn't bad considering how serious our spars can get, this usually brought down the wrath of his wife dressing us down for being too stupid understand the definition of "spar" which in turn would have us both staring at our feet muttering apologies for a 5 minutes, I think I would rather face an actual knife wielding attacker than her.

We sat against the wall just talking as we normally did every time I came here after my dad's episodes, never talking about much, just dancing from topic to topic, planning for my 18th birthday when I would move when I could legally leave home and move in with him and his wife…and of course a healthy bit of banter for good measure. Eventually the time came to head on home, the last thing I wanted was to get home late and accidentally wake the drunken bear.

"Hey Hunter" Joe said as we made our way outside.

"Yeah?"

"I know I say it all the time mate but just one day at a time".

"Yeah Joe I know, it's just… well you know" I replied, reaching for words.

He let out a small chuckle, "Yeah I know kid, you know me and Sara are always here right? Anything you need."

I stopped and pulled him into our usual half-hug, "I know Joe, I'll see you two tomorrow?"

"You know it kid" he said, turning and heading off for the short walk home, "see ya then".

* * *

Sometimes I can be such a bloody idiot. I mean I should have known, the pattern was right there to see, if Thursday got here early then logically Friday will be right behind it. But did I anticipate this? No I didn't because I'm a bloody idiot.

So I got home from school later than I usually did, I decided to stay and sign up for the wrestling team after being asked for the millionth time by the coach, unfortunately forgetting that I needed to get dinner on for the drunken couch potato.

And now here I am with said couch potato who is most definitely drunk, in my face screaming about how I need to pull my weight if I want to live in 'his house'.

That particular line almost sets me off, _not pulling MY weight_? I thought darkly, _what the fuck do you do besides take up space and stink up the place? You don't even pay for this place, the government pays the rent because you're too busy at the bottom of your bottle to get a job._

Whether these thoughts showed on my face, I said them out loud or he just reached the tipping point by himself I don't know, but the next thing I know I'm frozen lying on the ground suffering from what I'm reasonably sure is the effect of a flash bang. All too soon I find myself being pulled to my feet again as I try to force my way through some childlike panic, despite being drunk he's still six and half feet tall and my earlier description of a bear is not inaccurate, he therefore has no trouble at all pushing me up against the wall still shouting words that don't pierce the panic in my brain. It feels like an eternity passes before I feel my head snap forward smashing into his nose sending him stumbling backwards.

Muscle memory acts seemly of its own accord as my hand grabs his shoulder and pulls him into my rising elbow, my body keeps moving sliding under and locking around his upper arm…my hips drop…my arms pull…over 150 kilograms of dad hit the floor with a crash that finally snaps me out of my trance.

I run. I run as fast as I can towards the gym, my labored breathing the only thing I hear over my heartbeat, I can barely think, part of me wants to go back and finish the job, part of me is screaming about how much trouble I'm in right now but the bigger part just keeps telling me to run. Eventually I crash into the doors only to find them locked, "FUCK!" I scream out loud, _why is nothing making sense? Joe and Sara should be here!_

And so I find myself running to their house, what would be a 10 or so minute walk passes in an instant as my adrenaline fueled legs eat up the distance only to stop dead as I arrive at the scene.

There are cops. There's an ambulance. There are neighbors crowding the sidewalk. _No,_ my legs move, N _o!_ I unceremoniously shoulder my way up the drive through the crowd even through a policeman who's in my way, _NO!_

Then I see it, the white cloth covering a familiar shape being wheeled by medics, the sight stops me dead in my tracks once more. I see Sara's tear streaked face as she rushes towards me.

"I…wha…Joe?" I finally manage to choke the syllables out past whatever was blocking my throat.

"We were having a late lunch…"she managed, "…he said he didn't feel well…h-h-he went to lie down…he wouldn't w-wake up!"

I reeled back staggering as if struck, my hand found the hood of a police car stopping me from falling completely, the noises all blurred together, my vision blurred, nothing was making sense.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, I could make out the face of a police officer looking at me concerned, his mouth moved but the words were lost to me, all I could do was stare dumbly back.

 _No._ My mind rebelled, refusing to piece the information together. _No! He promised!_ I jumped back a step shaking my head profusely as if I could simply deny reality.

"Son? You need to look at me", the officers voice barely broke through the haze.

I took another step back still shaking my head, "No…he said…he said", the words tumbled out making as much sense as the world did me.

"Son please, you've got to breathe" the officer tried again, "Son?"

And so once again, for the third time this evening I find myself running, I don't know where to, I'm barely aware of the man I near trample in my escape, I vaguely make out the officer's and Sara's voices but they soon disappear.

I still don't know where I'm going, I don't even know where I am, I jump another fence, I sprint across another road, I crash through some bushes.

When I finally come to its dark and I'm kneeling in some sort of clearing surrounded by trees, I can feel my chest burning, I can feel little cuts on legs, probably from the bushes, but above all It hurts, it hurts like a physical pain, I raise my head and roar my pain and anger towards the heavens. Eventually my head drops and fall forward to the earth, my energy all but gone, I grip the grass and push my head against the ground, it feels like I kneel there for hours before i feel warmth on my face and hear a small but strong voice on the wind.

"What do you wish, child?"

Absolutely nothing is making sense today so why not answer the voice in my head? "I…I just want to go…far…anywhere but here".

"Then you shall have it my child".

* * *

I woke up to the sound of strange birds chirping…and rushing water? I lay there trying to piece together the events of last night and instantly wish I hadn't, my unopened eyes clench tight as I ward of a wave of emotion.

Suddenly I hear breathing, I hold my breath, _yep, definitely not mine._ I slowly open my eyes…to find a pair of smoky grey eyes on a curious face staring right back, I can see chocolate covered bangs, a long braid, a pink dress.

My first thought: _this is probably the prettiest face I have ever seen._

My first word however came out as a high pitched squeal usually reserved for finding a spider on your neck. "GAHHHHH!"


	2. You just might get it

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the last Airbender, i don't even really own my OC...i'm pretty sure judging from my student debt thus far i don't even own myself._** _Read and review thank you!_

* * *

 _It is a beautiful morning today. Well, not that other mornings weren't beautiful too I guess, the rainy ones bring all the pretty smells, the foggy ones bathe the land in a lovely blanket of white but days like these are the best!_ Thought the bubbly brunette as she regarded the forest around her during her morning walk, no matter where she was, she made sure to take early morning walks to see what the world had to offer her that day, after all seeing the world's beauty was a great way to keep her aura the lovely pink shade so loved.

Arriving in a small clearing she cartwheeled her way forward eventually landing in a sitting position as she watched the small rabbit-squirrels scurry about all the tree line with rapped interest. Her attention was soon caught by the flowers scattered about the clearing in various stages of opening up to the sun's rays colouring the grass in various shades of blue and yellow and with a contented sigh she fell backwards staring up at the early morning sky.

This was probably one of the nicest places the circus had taken her so far, some of the villages they passed through were so run down and miserable that she couldn't wait to leave but Nanjie, the village they had arrived in late yesterday, was one of the oldest and most cultivated of the colonies and was a true example of Fire Nation greatness being spread. Today would be their opening performance during an almost week-long festival and she was practically buzzing with excitement, they had a whole new act featuring panda-wolves that she found just adorable, some new additions to their troupe had an amazing sword juggling show and best of all today was the first time she would put on her new tightrope performance.

Her train of though was suddenly interrupted by a strange buzzing sound… _or was it a whining sound? Maybe more of a hum? Yes, that was it, a humming!_ She concluded about a second before there was a flash from somewhere nearby, if she wasn't so close she wouldn't have seen it. Never one to put self-preservation ahead of her curiosity she decided to investigate.

 _Is that a man?_ It had taken her another quarter hour to locate the source of her curiosity and now here she crouched on the edge of a far smaller clearing staring at what she was certain was a man lying, partially hidden, in the long grass. With skill and agility built over years of practice she silently made her way closer to the strange figure but for all her attempts to maintain distance, she was practically standing over him by the time she got a clear look.

The face was younger than she expected, in fact, he couldn't be much older than she was which didn't make sense because the body lying before her was huge; he was one of the biggest people she'd seen…But then again that wasn't the only unusual thing about him. The most noticeable thing was his clothing, she had never seen anything like it before; he was wearing some sort of thin coat with shorts, _what was the point of that?_ The next was his skin colour, she had only ever heard of Water Tribesmen being that dark and last but not least there was the fact he was lying in the middle of a forest after some weird light show in the early morning, normally these things would check all the boxes on a person's 'avoid at all costs' list but then again, Ty Lee was not a normal person and she opted instead to kneel down for a closer look.

Up closer she could see his face was not at all relaxed and having shed many tears in her life, she recognized the drying ones on his cheeks, _what happened to you? Where are you fro-_ her inner dialogue was interrupted by a series of twitches on his face but true to her nature, instead of backing off she bent even closer. The twitches became more and more frequent then suddenly stopped leaving her to wonder if he had awoken or had fallen back asleep, her question was answered as she saw unopened eyes scrunch even further closed and his breathing became forced as if to stop it from shuddering. After a few seconds he stopped suddenly and held his breath causing her to cock her head curiously, one eye peeked open…followed quickly by the other and she found herself staring into a pair of golden eyes, the eyes seemed to regard her for a moment almost dreamily, then clarity shot through them and gave off a sharp, decidedly feminine squeal.

"GAAAH!"

* * *

"GAAAH!"

My manly battle cry issues forth as I scramble away from the strange girl hovering over me, _where the hell am I? Who the hell is she? And what in the hell is she wearing?_ The pink clad girl in question still hadn't moved from her position and was still look at me in head tilted curiosity. I take a second to look at my surrounding, _this doesn't look like the same clearing as last night, although I guess I wasn't really in an observant mood...oh shit, I hope I didn't just crash out on her property!_

"Uhhh – Hi there?" I eventually decide to initiate conversation, after all I may just be trespassing here.

Suddenly she moves with all the speed and grace of a lifelong gymnast, jumping up and cartwheeling into a sitting position right in front of me with a giant grin, "Hi! I'm Ty Lee! What's your name? Where are you from? Your skin is soooo dark!"

 _Ah…what?_

"Erm, I'm Hunter, I'm from just down the road a bit…and I'm a Maori/Samoan mix?" _It's not exactly uncommon here…_

I could see a bit of confusion in her eyes but her voice was no less jolly as she responded. "Down the road? Are you from Nanjie village? That's where I'm staying!"

 _Nanjie? What the- what's wrong with this gir-….oooh I see…the excessive happiness, imaginary villages…I'm in the middle of nowhere with a special-needs girl, greeeaaaat just what I need right now._ "Ah…yeah, Nanjie, I sorta had a little uh…camp out yesterday? I should probably go back now, maybe we could walk back together?" _if I can get her to take me to…uh..nanjie?...probably her day-care place… well at least then I'll know where I am._

"Oh yeah! I should probably go back too now, come on!" she says while rolling backwards and bouncing to her feet, leaving me to scramble up after her.

 _Today is going to be a long day…_

The walk back gave me time to take stock of my situation, in all the confusion yesterday I didn't even take my school bag off, not that I had much in there but it still leaves me with my wallet, iPod, my boom speaker and a pad of refill… no pen, those never seem to make to through the day.

Another thing is that this…forest looks like none that I have ever seen before in Auckland, I can't recognize any of these trees or plants, oh and we have been walking way too long now, there is no way I ran THIS far out. Unfortunately I have not had an opportunity to verify our progress as my lovely guide has been talking non-stop since we left the clearing, she apparently thinks she's in a circus and she really loves something called a panda-wolf…

"So what's a MaoriSamoan?" She asks.

 _What's this? An opportunity to speak?_ "It's my mix of nationalities, Maori and Samoan, like different tribes from the pacific" I reply, "Are we getting close? I don't remember taking very long to get there".

"We're almost there, just up through those trees. Ooooh so you are Water Tribe, cool! I've never met a Water Tribe person before! Is the pacific tribe the north or south one? I thought water tribe eyes were blue!"

"I mean the pacific ocean! And what do you mean Water Tri-" _What the actual fuck…_ is pretty much the only thought in my head as I break the tree line and find myself looking at an honest to god village complete with rustic wood and stone houses and, and…is that kart being pulled by an ostrich? Turning my head a little I can also see some giant circus tents surrounded by people in various stages of preparation because fuck me, I'm the crazy one here not little miss perky pink.

"I…This doesn't….what…where the hell am I?" I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

"This is Nanjie village", she replied, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Why? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! How can y- Am I still in Auckland?"

"What's an Awkland?" she stepped closer and frowned up at me. "Are you ok? Your aura is all…frizzy"

"What year is it?" I asked choosing to ignore her last question, this is crazy enough without bringing in metaphysics.

"The Year of the chicken-pig"

"I don't believe this…where exactly is this village?"

Now she's looking at me like **I** am crazy, what role reversal…

"It's a colony of the Fire Nation of course! On the western edge of the Earth kingdom."

 _Fire Nation? Earth kingdom? Where am I and who's naming these places?_ "This doesn't make sense…I shouldn't be here, how did I even-" I got that far before my last conscious moments last night came back to me. _That voice, it was real? How did it bring me here-why did it bring me here?! Oh…I asked it to, didn't I? Oh god I am so fucked…_

Suddenly I felt someone grab my hand, I look down and see Ty Lee has grabbed my hand and is looking at me with concern written all over her face, I guess I must be wearing my thoughts on my face. "Come on! You look like you need a drink!" She insists before tugging on my arm and leading me on towards the circus tents.

 _You've got that damn right, I've never understood before why people drink, I sure as hell do now._

* * *

"Soooo, what does Auckland look like?"

I couldn't help but stare at the pink clad enigma that sat cross legged before me. _Seriously?! I just told her I'm from a far off land and was brought here by some magical voice because I asked politely and she believes me?! I don't believe it and I'm living it!_

"Really? You believe me?" I asked incredulously.

"Well you're obviously not from here, with your clothes and well everything." She said gesturing at me with both hands, "maybe the spirits brought you here?"

"Uh…ok then… I'm not really sure how to describe it, it's really different. It's a city that keeps going further than you can see with lots of big buildings- oh wait, I can show you" I said, remembering I still had my iPod with me. I heard her gasp of surprise after I pulled it out and flicked my finger across the screen lock. _Right, I should probably be careful about who sees this, it'll be another thousand odd years before they have these…_ Eventually I found the photos I was looking for of me, Joe and Sara into town the weekend of my 16th birthday, I feel my heart constrict as I think of them but shove the thoughts away.

I move to sit beside her and slowly began to flick through the photos explaining the various locations. "This is sort of the main road in the city, it's called Queen Street and it's where you find all the shops and street performers and stuff like that." I said, pausing of a picture with me and a coal miner mime. I flicked across to a picture of me and Sara standing in front of a veritable sea of white sails, "This is the waterfront, they call Auckland the city of sails because of how many boats we have packed in the harbour."

"Wow" she said, not for the first time. This must be to her what meeting and conversing with an alien would be for me. "What is this little thing?" she asked, pointing to the iPod. _Right, should probably have explained the magical picture machine._

"This is called an iPod, lots of kids have these where I'm from, it's mostly for music but it also can save uh…images with this little camera here." I replied indicating the little glass circle on the back.

The questions kept coming strong for almost an hour while we half-hid along the tree line behind the circus, I had insisted that we move away from people for obvious reasons and to be honest I rather enjoyed her questioning, it helped me to forget that my life has completely been turned inside out-if only temporarily, It would also seem my first impression of Ty Lee was more than a little off, she was by no means crazy nor was she an air head, in fact some of her questions even had me stumped for answers; no, it seemed she just had this air of innocence around her.

Eventually the question I had been half pondering since we got the village was asked. "What are you going to do now?"

I Sighed, "What can I do? I've never been anywhere like this place before, I have no money, no home..." I sighed, "…what do I do? Join the army?"

She didn't seem to catch my sarcasm, "Oh no no, you don't want to join the army right now, it looks awful", suddenly her eyes widened and she beamed what I'm sure is her signature smile at me. "Oh I know! You can join the circus here!"

 _The circus?! Well...it's something_ , "Ty Lee I don't know if there is anything I can do in the circus like you, I'm not exactly the performing type." I say looking at her current position resting of forearms with her back twisted over leaving her legs to dangle down just above her face. This girl is making it very hard for me concentrate.

This didn't really seem to deter her. "There's always something silly! What are you good at?"

"I don't really…well, I can fight? And I can dance, but really only partner dances." I replied, memories of Sara's dance lesson after weeks of her insisting I learn something non-violent flashed by, of course Joe agreed saying it would be good for my training…and because that man was whipped with a capital 'W'. Yet again I shove painful thoughts aside.

"There! You see? There's lots of things you can do in the circus with skills like those! Especially if they're as exotic as you!" With that she rolled off the crate she was perched on and once again I found myself being tugged along by my hand towards the circus.

Oh this girls going to make me blush.

* * *

It was only another five minutes of being unceremoniously tugged around before we met the circus master, funnily enough nobody really seemed to give us a second glance; I suppose Ty Lee's antics are well known around here. The Master himself was a short man, barely 5 and half feet tall, which I was starting to think was the norm around here, nobody on the way here seemed normal sized.

"Hey Tze Wei!" she greeted enthusiastically, "this is my new friend Hunter! He wants to join our circus!"

"Uh, hey" I said uncertainly.

The man stopped and looked me up and down. "What's he wearing?" he asked her.

 _HEY!_

"Oh he's just a little foreign, we were talking and I think he'd be just **amazing** in the wrestling bouts aaaand he can teach some of his native dances and we can have a whole never before seen act!" She fired off, never once dropping her smile… or my arm for that matter.

This girl should take up sales.

The man gave me another look over before stopping with his head arched up to look me in the eye. "Well you would certainly bring in a crowd my friend, where are you from? You look Water Tribe."

"Ah no, I get it all the time though, maybe I had ancestors from there?" I said, it was easier than trying to explain inter-whatever travel.

"Seems likely, alright, we've got a big week starting later today and we can use all the help we can get around here, welcome to the Lǚyóu dài circus my new friend! Ty Lee can explain to you how things work around here and introduce you to the rest." He turned to my now beaming companion, "Ty Lee, when you've both finished up take him to Ming and the boys, they'll show him the routines and show him the ropes."

I soon lost myself in a sea of new faces and strange animals and I couldn't help but wonder just what I have gotten myself into.

* * *

 **A/N**

Hey Everyone! really happy with the warm reception :)

So i'm not 100% sure what the etiquette is regarding replying to reviews so unless someone specifies otherwise ill just cover them as a group at the end of chapter.

The original story i had written up years ago was a Ty Lee x OC pairing, i just felt there would be a bit more wiggle room in writing her, however since the story was poorly written and i am re-writing large chunks of it i'm not entirely sure right now as to exactly what will happen, so feel free to pitch in ideas if y'all want :)

I was pretty surprised when I was doing a bit of research and found out how small everyone's supposed to be with zuko being like 5'4 or something like that, although if i think about it, they are a bunch of kids set in a medieval Asian type background so it could make sense...i am a bit ignorant as to the Asian histories.

As for my OC not being familiar with AtLA, i wanted a different story showing the "bad" side and i can't think of another way for him to 'side' with the Fire Nation unless he's completely ignorant and really only experiences the so called "evils" the Earth kingdom and such people will throw his way.

Don't worry, as of next chapter things will finally start up, just had to make sure i was happy with setting it all up.


	3. A rough party

**Insert disclaimer here.**

* * *

The festival had the circus camp so crowded Ty Lee was forced to resort to feats of acrobatics to get around, today was the third and traditionally the most important day of the festival and the day in which everyone bought out their best whether it be the circus's best acts, the restaurant's best dishes or the city's best fireworks. Coincidentally this was the first day that she would actually be able to see Hunter perform in the ring as both of their performances usually started within minutes of each other and so here she was jumping from beams and swing from ropes in hopes of arriving in time.

The last two days had been perhaps the most interesting in her life and it was due to one person, the boy who had literally appeared from nowhere. Ty Lee was raised on tales of the men being called on by the spirits to do anything from rescue the princess to overthrowing evil Empires but never in her life did she ever expect to meet one, what else could explain his sudden appearance? _I wonder what his quest is?_

He was also completely dependent on her for the first two days for even the basics of where to use the bathroom to what types of food he should eat. That being said he wasn't unpleasant company, his stories about his homeland and the pictures on his little machine were amazing... it also helped that he was really cute.

Climbing up on some scaffolding she found a spot with the view of the ring a little above the heads of the audience. Today was a special day for the wrestling as well, normally the fights were staged to give the best performance with the least likelihood of injury but today the matches were real and open to public entry with all fighters battling it out to find the true champion.

Eventually to the crowds delight, two fighters entered the ring and after the obligatory show-boating, assumed positions. Ty Lee didn't recognize either of them so they must both be villagers, this would also explain the villagers' excitement and cheers.

To her eye the first two sets of fights were quite dull, both involving untrained men employing poor technique in an attempt to force their opponent into submission, she knew that few people received the level of training at a young age that her and her sisters did but she still felt the most entertaining thing about them was the fighters ring-names, _the Giant Baba_ she thought to herself giggling. Eventually the crowd quietened down enough for the ring master to announce the next two fighters.

"And For the final fight in this first pool, I present to you your contestants! In the Red corner, Hailing from the smithy of your town of Nanjie I give you your very own…..BLACK HAMMER!"

The audience roared with approval as a large man pushed his way through the crowd into the ring, the man was huge; possessing the massive shoulders and arms of a blacksmith, there was no definition to his body but the man's strength was obvious to any who looked.

"And in the green corner, hailing from…No town in particular… I give you the newest member of the Lǚyóu dài circus….THE TRIBAL!

Ty Lee immediately perked up hearing the announcement, _newest member of the circus? It has to be Hunter!_ The cheering from the crowd was almost as loud as it was for the black hammer as Hunter's unmistakable figure worked its way into the ring. Hunter was wearing a light red hooded robe that draped over his body completely obscuring everything above the knee, slowly he reached up and pulled his hood down revealing his grinning face and he raised his arms towards the crowd drawing out another round of cheers and whistles. _For a guy who says he's not the performing type, he seems to do a pretty good job of it,_ Ty Lee thought to herself while joining in on the cheering.

With the same deliberate slowness, he reached down and undid the clasp on his robe and with a step forward he shrugged it off, leaving it to fall to the ground behind him and Ty Lee found herself staring at him. He was another three or four inches taller than his opponent but his build was far different, where the Black Hammer was muscle upon muscle with a slight layer of fat on top, There was nothing wasted on him, everything looked honed by years of training and she could see his left shoulder was dominated by intricate tribal tattoo that was likely the source of his ring name.

She was so caught up staring that she almost missed the ring master announcing the fights commencement. Immediately The Hammer charged across the distance between them attempting to overpower him early, Ty Lee was glad she didn't blink or she may have missed the next events; she expected Hunter to dodge or even meet him with his own charge however, she was not expecting to see him drop almost to his knee ducking under the Hammer's outstretched arms. The Hammer realized his error too late to stop his momentum from carrying him onto Hunter's shoulder and with speed that surprised even Ty Lee, Hunter locked one arm around the Hammers thigh and the other around his upper arm as he surged upwards and used the Hammers own momentum to hurl him to the ground with a crash that made Ty Lee cringe.

But the Hammer was far from done, he surged to his feet again the two met in a crash that had the crowd roaring so loud she was confident the next town over could hear it. The two battled for close to a minute grappling back and forth neither managing to gain the upper hand until the Hammer got the inside grip with both of hunter's arms, seeing his advantage he surged forward trying to lock both arms around Hunter's midsection, fortunately Hunter seemed to anticipate this and he quickly dropped his hips and pushed his head down under the Hammer's, in such a position Ty Lee almost didn't see hunter lock his arms around his opponent before he rolled. Off balance and with both his arms pinned the Hammer found himself unable to act as he slammed into the ground again and was promptly rolled a second time, before he could gain his bearings to launch a counter offensive he had his shoulders pinned to the ground as Hunter straddled his chest with his fist cocked back in the victor's position.

Ty Lee thought the next _Two_ towns over would hear the cheering.

* * *

I found myself unable to hold back a groan as I sat down on my sleeping pallet, the champion's cloak around my shoulders. The majority of the fights were easy enough that I could play around a little for the benefit of the crowd like Ming explained was the whole purpose, but the last two matches were against an experienced guard and soldier…those two did **not** go down easy, in fact I very nearly lost the last one.

 _Well, wrestling was never my strongest game_ I thought to myself remembering how easily Joe would throw me around on the mats. It was getting easier to think about those times, it still hurts but it's a bearable pain. Ty Lee was a big help there, I swear it's almost impossible to be down when I'm around her, that bubbly personality just overpowers and darker thoughts.

Gah…look at me, barely three days here and I've already got a crush. Of course it doesn't help that she insists on showing just how flexible she is on the slightest whim. _Bah, enough of that, bad teenager!_

Thankfully my inner dialogue was interrupted as someone entered the tent, unfortunately (or fortunately?) it was the very object of my day dream that walked in.

"Uh, hey Ty Lee" I said trying not to stare, her performance outfit was pretty…distracting.

"Hunter! Congratulations! That was amazing!" She beamed before launching herself into a hug.

"You were there? I tried to look for you in the crowd before the match started but there were way too many people." I said pulling myself free.

"Oh, I wasn't in the crowd, it was way too full in there, I was on the scaffolding above them." She replied with her trademark grin.

"Of course you were," I laughed, "I should have known. Are you ready for the main event?"

Tonight's event was the culmination of all our performances, the circus would continue for another two or so days after but today was the most important day of the festival so it's also the day we put on the biggest shows.

"Yup, you bet! We're going to wow everyone there!" She stopped and cocked her head at me. "So are you going to get ready too?"

"Yeah-yeah" I say pushing myself to my feet while ignoring my protesting muscles. "I was just taking a breather before I cleaned myself up, I'm a little sore from the last match."

"That was a pretty long fight you two had, I thought he was going to win for a while."

"Oh ye of little faith," I teased, "Actually, I thought so too, we were both tired and he was just the first one to make a mistake. Anyway, I'll just go wash up and I'll be right over."

"Ok, I'll see you there!"

She was just out the tent flap before an idea occurred to me. "Ty Lee! Hold up!" I called.

For a moment I thought she hadn't heard me but then her head poked back through the flap with a questioning hum.

"I was wondering…after your show there's still a few hours left and uh…Do you want to see the rest of the festival with me?" _Real smooth mate…real smooth_. I thought to myself sarcastically before promptly telling myself to shut up.

Luckily I needn't have worried. "Sure! I'll find you after!" she said before she slipped back out of the tent.

It wasn't long before I found myself out back of the tents staring down at a bucket of cold water, a sponge and a bar of caustic soap…or as the circus folk call it, a bath…oh I do hope we stop at a place with plumbing sometime soon, Ty Lee tells me that where she comes from in the Fire Nation that lots of people even have hot baths! Although she says that's usually because they have the ability to throw fire from their hands, I have yet to see it with my own eyes but to be honest, if I go my entire life without seeing this…firebending, I'm completely fine with that. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that people can do…well… magic I guess but everyone talks about it like it's an everyday mundane thing.

Eventually I finished the gruelling task of an outdoor sponge bath and was ready to make my way to the main event. Thankfully my part in this was minimal, Ty Lee and her tightrope friends made up the main act while there was a collection of various performers on the ground; all I had to do was play the music. Yep that's right! With what's probably the last of the battery on my boom I am going to rock this place! Well that's the plan anyway, after hearing some of my music Ty Lee became obsessed with making it part of her performance (obsessed enough to convince the circus master to let us use the 'magic music box', I'm actually impressed that after only a few hours of practice they were doing their routines almost perfectly in time with Waka waka…yeah…of all the 16 gigabytes of music there she chooses that one. That being said, she must have a feel for it because the 2010 world cup remix suits it quite well.

Quickly I make my way into the main tent and over to my position next to what would appear to anybody else as a pile of junk, but to me…well it's still a pile of junk BUT one particular cone shaped piece is acting as my makeshift amplifier, as loud as the boom is it isn't loud enough on its own. Thankfully it's not too long of a wait until the Ring master gets up on his podium to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen! On behalf of this circus I thank you all for being here with us to celebrate this wonderful occasion!" He called, hands uplifted. "Tonight my friends, we have the main event, the culmination of all the acts you have seen thus far…A never before seen performance! Ladies and gentlemen, I shall not take up any more of your time, please give a round of applause for your performers!

After allowing the crowd a few seconds he gave the signal to begin. The bass began and the crowd went silent in surprise unable to see where the sound was coming from, their surprise quickly turned to more cheers as Ty Lee summersaulted from her hidden platform to land perfectly on the tightrope. One by one the other acrobats emerged in time with the music, each one embellishing their entry with a flip of some kind, it wasn't long until the audience was oohing at the feats of acrobatics on display, even I had to admit how well this was all playing out, Ty Lee would appear to fall to the ground bringing a collective gasp from the crowd, only to be caught by another performer swinging by on the trapeze, another would handstand walk the tight rope while another summersaulted over him and all the while the music played.

Even though I know the song only last for three minutes, it seemed to take a lot longer but eventually the music came to a stop and the performers all landed in their various contorted ending positions and the crowd burst into applause that would have been impressive for a crowd twice its size.

 _You know, I could really get used to this._

* * *

"So how was it?" Asked a voice right in my ear.

"GAAAH!" Once again my manly war cry sounds forth, I'm starting to think she's making a game of trying to sneak up on me. "Ty Lee, why?" I whined, looking up to see here dangling from the railing above me.

"Because it's funny hearing someone so big scream like a girl!" she laughed confirming my suspicions.

"I don-that's ridicule-It's not girly!" I stammered, trying in vain to justify myself.

She only laughed harder, "Oh don't worry you! It's kinda cute actually."

Great…now I'm blushing too. Time to cut my losses. "So uh, you ready to head out?"

"Yup I'm ready." She replied, flipping down and landing in front of me. "Where should we go first?"

"Well, I don't know about you but I could really use some food, maybe we can go find a restaurant?" As if to punctuate my statement my stomach chooses that exact moment to growl loudly causing both of us to burst out laughing.

"I think that would be a good idea." She eventually gets out before grabbing me by the arm and pulling me towards town.

I suppose we must've been quite the sight as we made our way around, a 5' girl leading a 6'3 guy by the arm is probably not a common sight, at least I think that's why people keep staring…maybe I have something on my face? Eventually we end up in front of what appears to be a very successful restaurant.

"I've heard people talking about this one", Ty Lee starts, "the Golden Flame, it's supposed to be the best in this whole colony!"

"This place look amazing," I agreed, "But do you think we can afford to eat here?"

She paused in consideration for a few seconds before starting up the stairs replying, "Only one way to find out! Everything's cheaper during a festival anyway."

 _Well here goes…_ I think to myself hurrying to catch up with her, this girl can really move.

"Good evening, welcome to the Golden Flame! Do you have a reservation?" asks the greeter as we approach the desk.

"Ah, no we don't, we were hoping to see if there was a table for two available?" I reply with a smile.

"Oh I'm sorry," she says with a sad smile, "There are no available tables right now; all tables are booked."

 _Well, it was bound to be like this_ I thought before Ty Lee thanked her and we started towards the door, we had only made it a few steps before a different voice cried out for us to wait. A small pot-bellied man came rushing forward.

"Excuse me good sir, but you wouldn't happen to be The Tribal would you? The victor in the pit?" He asked excitedly.

"Actually yes I am, me and my friend here heard that this was the finest establishment in this colony." I replied laying it on thick, _Please work, I am reeeeaaallly hungry right now._

"Splendid! I am Kow-loon and I assure you that you have heard correctly my friend! We are also sure to cater to the finest of gentlemen!" he stated before turning to the greeter. "Ju Li! Arrange a table for our guests here, and be sure they eat well!"

"But sir, all tables are booked" Ju Li started before being interrupted.

"I do believe the chefs table is free, is it not?"

"Really sir!? I-I mean yes sir." She said her face red before turning to us. "If you two would follow me."

"Do enjoy yourselves tonight!" Kow-loon called as we were lead away.

Minutes later I found myself sitting at quite possible the fanciest table I had ever seen opposite Ty Lee staring at a menu filled with what seemed to be the strangest dishes I had ever heard of, eventually I decided to go with the koala-lamb dish. I have to admit this place deserves its reputation, even back home I had never seen a restaurant so fancy. The place looked almost Japanese in style and was coloured a mixture of golds and reds and blacks, giving the whole place a really vibrant look. It was no time at all before our dishes arrived and wasting no time I dug into my dish with far less finesse than was usual at a place like this.

Eventually I looked up to see Ty Lee was holding back a giggle and I flushed red. "Sorry, I'm just really hungry." The fact that my mouth was full only served to full blown giggle fit. _Smooth Hunter…you're just on fire tonight._

"So, uh, have you ever been to a place like this before, Like back home?" I asked trying to distract from the fact I just made a royal ass of myself.

"No we didn't actually eat out at restaurants often but we ate food like this every day." She replied with a surprising lack of joy in her tone.

Luckily I managed to avoid doing a spit take. "Really? So your family's rich?"

She seemed to deflate a little more. "My family is among the more powerful of the noble families in the capital. My parents even set me up as a playmate with princess Azula"

 _Holy shit_

"Um…wow I didn't realise…so uh, what are you doing in the circus?" I asked before I could help myself.

"Because I want to" she said quietly, "I have six sisters at home, we all look the same and we were all trained the same way…people only told me apart because I wore pink! I tried to be my own person by training as an acrobat but it never worked, I was just part of a set…just one of the Ty sisters."

"Hey, you're the top acrobat in the best circus in the world, I'd say that's pretty unique." I said gently seeing how the topic was affecting her.

"That's why I ran away here, I want to be me and I couldn't do that at home…" she paused. "Is it easy to be different where you're from?"

That made me pause. "I-I don't really know, everyone always says to be yourself but at school everyone tried to fit into a group, it's like they tell us to be unique but everyone wants to be the same."

"Oh. Did you try to be the same too?"

"No, I-uh-never really cared about what anyone else thought, I had some friends at school but no one really close. The only person I ever wanted to be like was my friend Joe, he helped me a lot, people used to think he was my dad."

"Really? He sounds nice, what about your actual dad?" I must've flinched pretty hard because she immediately started backpedalling.

"No, it's alright. It's just I- I really don't like him, he drinks a lot, and then…well, you know." I finished lamely.

"Sorry, I- uh- what about your mum?" I could tell she was trying to be tactful but there really is no safe zone when it comes to my family.

"She left when I was little, I don't know if she left because dad drank a lot or if dad drinks because she left."

"Oh, I'm sorry" I could tell she was quite flustered at this point.

"Change subject?" I asked.

"Yes please".

* * *

The rest of dinner went by smoothly, and surprisingly quite cheaply to, although I think Kow-loon had a hand in that too, the man must really love his wrestling. We were now wandering among the markets doing a little window shopping and I was enjoying myself quite a bit.

Ty Lee however was ecstatic.

"Wow, do you see these ear-rings? Aren't they pretty? And oh boy look at this necklace!"

I just put a smile on and let the atmosphere of the festival wash over me…that was until I saw the weapons stall. With all the patience of a rushing rhino I shot over, much to Ty Lee's displeasure, there were so many type of weapons here, there were daggers and swords, spears and halberds, even a giant flail on the back wall.

"Do you know how to use any of them?" came Ty Lee's voice from behind me.

"Actually, no." I said scratching the back of my head embarrassed. "No one uses weapons like this anymore at home."

"Why are you so excited then?" she asked, confused.

I was saved from having to awkwardly explain the 'coolness' level of swords by a large crash from behind us. A man in red and black armour was lying unconscious on top of a fruit stand, two shorter heavy-set men in green the obvious culprits. The men took defensive stances as they were surrounded by a group of four more armoured men. One of the green clad men moved, his stance was solid and he moved forward stamping one foot into the ground and shoving his arms forward, it didn't occur to me what he was doing until the very earth in front of him exploded in a wave like motion towards one of the red armoured men.

The Man's response was a quick leap to the side after which he spun and punched out one arm sending a jet of fire toward his opponent which was stopped by a wall of earth that shot up from the ground and I felt myself seize up in shock, _holy shit, holy shit, they're doing it! That man just shot fire from his hands!_

"Hunter, Come-on, we need to go!" I was snapped out my trace by Ty lee pulling my arm in an attempt to get me to move.

Unfortunately as we tried to run, the men fighting had moved in such a way that we found ourselves caught right in the middle of them. _Those pricks in green are using us like human shields!_ One of the earth benders moved forward and I felt time seem to slow down. The earth rippled out in front of him, he didn't seem to care that we were in between him and his target. The ripple caused chunks of earth to shoot out like spikes in rough line in front of the bender, they looked like they could smash right through a kart if they hit one. As I watched the earth move in this slow motion trance I realised with relief that it would miss me, that relief turned to horror as I realised that Ty Lee who was two steps ahead was right in its path. With speed that only she seemed capable of, she jumped into the air using the raised earth life to gain momentum as she hand-sprung over it towards the two green men.

I barely had time to register that fact before she landed in between them, the man closest to her stepped forward with a powerful backhand…he didn't even come close. She ducked under it and fired of two punches to his armpit and neck so quickly I barely saw them, they didn't look like they had much power behind them but the effect was instantaneous, the man's arm dropped nerveless to his side and he seemed to convulse a little before he fell to the ground.

 _What the shit?_

The second of the men seemed to take issue with this and he threw his fist forward sending a chunk of stone whistling towards Ty Lee, once again she dodged it with room to spare as she did the next two attacks he tried before she got within arm's reach, the man obviously hadn't learned from the last guy and threw a wild haymaker which she effortlessly ducked under, she continued to move until she was completely behind him before she let loose a combination of punches that dropped the man to the ground groaning in pain.

I stared at her for a few more seconds as I tried to pick my jaw up off the ground, then as if someone flicked a switch, her posture relaxed and her fierce look of determination disappeared as she turned to me with a shy smile. _I do believe I can safely call this the second strangest night of my life…_

* * *

 _The next day_

The sun gleamed off sweat soaked bodies as the two men grappled in the sand, it seemed to be some kind of training session although training for what she couldn't say. The education pertaining to combat she had received was extensive and second to none and yet the watcher could safely say she had never seen nor heard of this particular fighting style, it was swift and brutal, moving in close where the vast majority of disciplines demanded a certain distance be kept for kicks or for bending. Were she not so pressed for time she would have investigated further. Perhaps later.

She was already behind, her fugitives had days so far to disappear into the earth kingdom and contrary to popular belief neither of the fugitives were incompetent…as much as she may preach that they were. No, if she is to bring them in fast and with minimal fuss, she is going to need a very specialised team with very unique talents. And her sources tell her one such team member should be here.

Her sources were right.

Not 30 feet away from her in the shade of a nearby tent stood the very person she needed…the word 'stood' being used in the loosest sense that can be applied to one balancing on their index fingers staring quite transfixed on the two figures training in the midday sun. With deliberate slowness she walked toward the pink clad girl, the silence of her step even in full armour was a testament to her ability.

But she was not the only one with a history of intense training, the moment she got within a few feet the girls eyes snapped towards her…and blinked in confusion.

"Ty Lee, could that possibly be you?" she asked, her voice heavy with false surprise.

The girl flipped to her feet and regarded her for a moment, her eyes flicking from her face to her armour before finally resting on her hairpiece. With real shock the girl replied.

"Azula?"

* * *

 **A/N**

And so we enter the events of season 2! i tried to make this chapter a little bit more interesting.


	4. I'm on a boat!

**There should be a disclaimer here somewhere...**

 **A/N: Hey guys, just a brief note, i haven't been able to see many of your reviews as they don't appear when i click on the review link. I have just activated my email alerts so i can read them there until this error is fixed.**

 **As always thanks for reading, please feel free to offer any advice.**

* * *

"Azula?" A hundred different thoughts, feelings and memories ran through Ty Lee's mind as she gazed dumbly at her childhood friend. It had been two years since she had run away from home and she never expected to see anyone from her previous life again, let alone princess Azula. She was so surprised that it took her a full few seconds before she jumped forward to embrace her. "Azula, it's so good to see you!"

Azula quickly extricated herself, she was never one for physical displays of affection. "Please, don't let me interrupt your…" She cocked her brow, "…Whatever it is you were doing."

Needing no further invitation Ty Lee promptly flipped backwards landing on her hands and then lowering herself to the ground to cradle her head in her hands with her legs curled over her flicking back and forth in the air.

Azula glanced back towards the fighters noticing that Ty Lee's attention was still somewhat occupied by them and pointedly coughed before starting again. "Tell me Ty Lee, what is the daughter of a prestigious family doing here? Surely our parents didn't send us to the Royal Academy for girls just for us to end up in…" she glanced back towards the fighters, "…places like this."

In the distance one of the fighters ducked under a punch and lifted one arm to trap it at the elbow then, with speed that belied his size, he took a half step around his opponent and jumped up throwing one leg up over his shoulder so that for a split second he was perched atop the other man holding the man's arm in an awkward position, he then threw his weight forward into a roll until he had thrown the man to the ground and held his arm in a submission hold.

Once again this man had demonstrated technique that she was unfamiliar with and she made a mental note to investigate further when time permitted before continuing, "I have a proposition for you."

Ty Lee, she noticed was watching the show with a strange smile on her face before she turned her attention back to Azula with a questioning gaze.

"I'm hunting a traitor to the Fire Nation" she stated casually picking at her nails, "You remember my fuddy-duddy uncle don't you?"

"Oh yeah! He was so funny." Ty Lee replied from her contorted position somehow looking just as comfortable as Azula was standing.

"I would be honoured if you were to join me." Azula said going in for the kill.

"Oh…I-I would love to…" Ty Lee started as she rolled to her feet with a fluid grace that Azula envied. "But the truth is I'm really happy here," She glanced yet again to the fighters, "I mean, my aura has never been pinker!"

"I'll take your word for it." Azula replied, holding up her hand in a 'stop' motion before flashing a predatory smile and continuing, "I wouldn't have you give up the life you love just to please me."

"Oh thank you Azula." Ty Lee says bowing before starting her stretching routing once more.

Azula turned to walk away before pausing theatrically. "Of course, before I leave, I'm going to catch your show, I wouldn't want to miss such an opportunity."

Turned as she was she didn't see Ty Lee break her stance and near stumble but she noted, with some satisfaction, the nervous note in her voice as she stammered her reply. "Uh…Yeah…S-Sure…of course."

Azula made it another two steps before an idea occurred to her. "Oh and Ty Lee, that man over there sparring, the tall dark one? Do you know him?"

"Yeah, he's my…uh…friend, Hunter." Strangely Ty Lee sounded even more nervous.

 _Interesting…_ Azula thought to herself before replying, "Well maybe you can introduce us before I leave hmm?"

She didn't wait for a response before she continued walking.

* * *

 _What the flying fuck in going on!?_ I thought as I ran through the early evening air towards Ty Lee's tent. I had been sparring for the majority of the day at the behest of a few of the circus men, ever since I emerged victorious in the fight pits the night before it seemed all those around here who fancied themselves macho-men wanted me to show them a few moves. I would much rather have been present to watch Ty Lee's show but the bubbly little girl herself had encouraged me to be out here and spend some 'quality time' with my new found…work-mates? Acquaintances? I wasn't sure how to classify them just yet.

It wasn't until quite a bit of time had passed that I had realised it was getting dark and sat down for a quick breather that I saw the smoke. There was a cloud of it emerging from the top of the main tent and in my tired state it took me a few seconds to realise that Ty Lee was supposed to be performing there! So I ran, adrenaline pumping through my system as I tore through the circus until I got to the foot of the tent itself only to find that the tent was not in fact burning and as if to prove that things could always get stranger, I saw a number of the animal handlers racing around attempting to calm their various animals and get them back in their cages.

"Hey, excuse me, what happened here?" I asked, reaching out to grab who appeared to be a nearby spectator.

"I don't rightly know, we were enjoying the show when suddenly someone lit the safety net on fire and released the animals into the ring, all while that poor girl was balanced on the tightrope!" she replied, "and to make things worse the princess herself was present! It must be such an embarrassment to the circus!"

 _The princess? Here? Damn it, why does nothing ever make sense?_ I thought before blurting out, "Is she ok?! Was she hurt?"

"Yes, she even finished her routine…a little fast but that's entirely understandable."

And so here is am tearing through the night yet again, I don't even remember thanking the lady before I rushed off. It wasn't long until I was at her tent and bursting through the entrance."

"Ty Lee what the hell happened!? I saw the smoke and I-" I cut myself off as I saw that we were not the only two people in the tent, Ty Lee was staring at me, halfway through a bow, with a surprised look on her face while the other figure simply stared at me appraisingly.

The other girl was a strange sight, she was wear some sort of light armour that covered her shoulders and came down over her upper torso with metal braces and shin guards to complete the outfit, but the strangest thing about her was the way she carried herself, she stood tall and proud and practically oozed confidence.

"I…uh…sorry…I didn't know you had a visitor." I stammered, knowing I had just stood in the doorway like an idiot for a fair amount of time.

"No, that's quite alright, Ty Lee had already agreed to introduce us," she turned to Ty lee, "hadn't you?"

"Oh…yeah, Hunter, this is Princess Azula, Azula this is Hunter." She says, missing her usual exuberance.

 _Oh great now you've done it…_ I quickly bowed the Fire Nation style Ty Lee had taught me, hands making the symbol of the flame, in an attempt to undo any potential insults. "Forgive me, I…uh…didn't know you'd be here." _Next time pay attention to what people tell you,_ I berated myself silently.

"Yes, I suppose it is not every day that member of the Royal family deigns to visit a place such as this." The princes responded with an amused smile. "You and Ty Lee seem to be fast friends, I sense an interesting story…I'd love to hear It." somehow I knew it wasn't a request.

"Well really it's not all that interesting," I lied through my teeth, "I met Ty Lee soon after arriving here while she was on one of her morning walks, she got me into the circus and well, we've been friends ever since." I have only told Ty Lee about my origins thus far and there was a very loud voice in my head telling me that now is not the time to start spreading word.

She merely cocked her brow at me, unconvinced, "You seemed pretty…anxious when you first entered. I would've thought there was more to the story."

"Oh…uh…well she's kind of my only friend here so I uh…panicked." I concluded lamely although the truth in that statement must have convinced as she dropped the issue.

"Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat, I'm afraid that I've spend too much time already," She said before smirking, "And of course Ty Lee needs to pack before we leave."

 _What?_ I felt something decidedly unpleasant coil in my stomach.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked uncertainly, looking back and forth between Ty Lee, who looked very uncomfortable, and Azula who had an unreadable expression the vaguely reminded me of Sara when she wanted something from me.

"Ty Lee has agreed to help me with a very important mission, we leave tonight." Said the princess, smiling towards the girl in question before she turned back to me, "I can assure you that it is of the utmost importance, I would not be were it not so…dangerous."

"Dangerous? Why would they send a li-" I caught myself, "-a member of the Royal family if it's so dangerous?" Somehow I don't think calling her a little girl would go down so well, something about her scares me.

"We will be hunting traitors to the Fire Nation, and not just any traitors, but members of the royal family itself. All attempts to deal with them thus far have been botched by the supremely incompetent, that's why I was sent and that's why I am recruiting those with…unique talents."

 _Unique talents?_ I thought to myself before the events of last night hit me, images of Ty Lee flipping through the air and effortlessly taking down two earth benders flashed through my mind along with our dinner conversation where she explained how she and her siblings were all 'trained' for the same purpose. No wonder the Princess was here for her, she's practically a ninja with a skill set like hers.

But where does that leave me? Here alone in this circus for a life of fighting in sand circles? No, Ty Lee was the only reason I was here. Could I just pack my bags and wander? Yeah right…no destination, no clue **and** in a world that's been at war for a hundred years? I wouldn't make it far…not that I'd have anywhere to make it to.

That leaves me one option… go with them, although how I was going to convince a princess to bring me along TR-8R hunting was beyond me….unless…

"I assume that these traitors won't go down without a fight?" I started, making my pitch, "and they're dangerous enough to warrant a team of unique specialists because those who went up against them previously simply were incompetent in comparison…"

"Right on both accounts, but what point are you trying to make?" Azula replied, even though her tone indicated she knew exactly what I was hinting at.

"I'm a lot of things princess, but I have never been called incompetent in a fight and I can guarantee that you'll be hard pressed to find a style more 'unique' than mine. Especially _considering in (my admittedly limited experience) that everyone only seems to practice different forms of kung Fu._

"You wish to join us?" Once again, the princess didn't seem surprised at all, I'm beginning to think she wants this…

"Yes princess, it would be an honour." I stated with mental fingers crossed, I even threw in another bow, I'm not really sure what the protocol is for greasing up royalty but I figure it can't hurt.

"Yes I suppose it would be." Came the eventual reply which was accompanied by a satisfied smirk. "Very well, I accept. I will leave you two to organize your affairs…oh and do be punctual, we have a schedule to adhere to."

And with that she turned and left leaving Ty Lee standing awkwardly and me feeling like I had just been played like a violin.

"So…pack?" I asked awkwardly.

 _One hour later…_

 _Damn it Ty Lee, I thought you were different from other girls_. I thought exasperated as I walked alongside her towards the docks, my meagre bag of belongings strapped to my back…and one of Ty Lee's not-so-meagre bags in either arm. I don't even know how it is that I ended up with all of our bags while she walked quite unencumbered carrying only a small bag resembling a purse, although I believe at one point she batted those eyes at me.

Said girl was now walking with an uncharacteristic lack of bubbly. "You didn't have to do that…to volunteer." She said, breaking the long silence.

"What else would I do?" I replied quickly, citing my previous inner dialogue, "Continue fighting in a circus? Wander this war-torn world aimlessly? No, you're my best friend…hell, my only friend in two whole worlds, you'd have to chase me off with a stick to stop me."

This seemed to cheer her up a little, "Sorry, it's just-well, I think she wanted you to come since she saw you training and found out we were friends, and she makes sure to get what she wants."

"Well, she's a princess so I guess she's used to it. But yeah I was kind of getting the same vibe, like I was fighting for something she wanted me to get anyway. But it's not like I want to be anywhere else….I-I mean….that I want to be wi-…damn it, I'll just shut up now, shall I?"

Her response was a loud giggle as we, thankfully, arrived at the gangway that lead up to the biggest friggin ship I have ever seen. Slowly I turned my head from side to side taking in the size of the royal barge then arching my head to gaze up the gangway to where I could see the princess waiting, I couldn't see her face but somehow I knew she was wearing that same satisfied smile.

I turned back to Face Ty Lee and offered her a smile of my own before we took our first steps towards and uncertain future.

* * *

 _The next day_

I have decided I love the ocean. In English class we studied quite a few poems about the ocean but I never really understood exactly what they were talking about with all their fancy words and writing techniques. But I understand now. Looking out across the water I could _feel_ what they tried to say, that sense of freedom, like your problems are left behind on shore and you can simply relax.

I was standing on the foredeck staring out into nothing, just enjoying the combination of salt breeze and sun on my face and contemplating the events of the past few days. My short time in the circus was enjoyable but if I were honest with myself, I don't know if I like the idea of being a performer for my whole life, the people were nice enough and I may have even made friends there eventually. But for some reason I feel like there's something I need to do…

You see I've been having these dreams ever since I got here, I can never remember specifics but there's always this…man, I can never get a good look at him but his eyes seem to burn like fire as does the crown above his head, I can never remember what it is he says but I know he wants something from me. I never thought I'd be the type to base my actions on dreams but hey, my life isn't exactly making a whole lot of sense right now and it would make a certain amount of sense that whoever brought me here did so for a reason. And so I find myself considering my current situation, I'm clearly doing something more important than performing, I'll just hope that I'm on the right path.

The day had been uneventful thus far aside from a rude awakening at sunrise, I mean who gets up at sunrise right? Fire benders apparently. But aside from that I've divided my time between breakfast and a bit of exercise, I haven't seen either Ty Lee or the princess thus far but I guess they would be taking a little time to catch up.

My attention was drawn by a nearby group of soldiers who were going through some sword drills, they didn't seem to be doing any sort of official training so I figured I'd see if they had room for one more. After all, I'm going to need to get used to fighting people who use swords, spears and all forms of archaic weapons…and bending now that I think about it, there's a lot I've got to learn.

"Hey guys, do you think I could join in with you? I don't really have as much experience fighting against large weapons and It gets boring practicing on my own." I say, approaching the group.

The tallest of the group, who actually comes up to my nose, steps forward and looks me over before replying, "That depends, what do you have experience in?"

"Hand to hand fighting and defence against knifes and clubs, things like that. Nothing in the actual use of weapons." I said. Saying it all out loud makes me realise all the more just how under equipped I am for a battle here.

Fortunately, this didn't seem to put them off and I was soon standing alongside them in a uniform that barely fit me, I suppose it is a minor miracle that it fits at all, the pauldrons and chestplate were a little tight but the braces and boots fit quite well, I guess I've always had small feet for my size.

The soldier that had been assigned to dress me, who introduced himself as Bao looked up at me. "Just how old are you kid?" He asked.

"Uh, I'm sixteen." I responded, I don't usually like being called 'kid' but hey, it's not my boat. _Heh I'm on a boat._

"Damn…what were they feeding you?" he responded cocking his eyebrow up at me.

That made me laugh. "Not enough." I said patting my stomach and feigning hunger.

Our laughter was cut off by a pointed cough. "Now fortunately for you," The taller one, Chao, began. "The standard Dao used by frontline soldiers is an easy weapon to use, it's more of a slashing weapon than a thrusting one so the movements tend to be like so." He continued, demonstrating a set of simple movements.

We continued like that for quite a while as they demonstrated a variety of simple blocks and attacks that are taught to new recruits. I wasn't that great with it all but Chao assured me that I was picking it up surprisingly fast. He explained the gist of what to do when facing opponents armed with spears and other such longer weapons, he even went over what to expect when facing earth benders.

We were interrupted by a loud crash as a massive explosion of water appeared not far off the side of the barge. The effect was instantaneous, everyone one deck rushed to their stations with practiced efficiency and I soon found myself lost in the confusion of running bodies and shouting voices. That was until I was thrown from my feet as something smashed into the deck nearby with an explosion of fire and stone. I sat there slightly dazed as another projectile smashed into the side of the barge on the side of the bridge, I could see that the catapults had already been raised on the foredeck and were already returning fire towards the shore.

Suddenly I felt something shake me by the shoulder, I looked up to see Ty Lee standing above me shouting something, it was only then I realised that all I could hear was the ringing in my ears, behind her I could see Princess Azula staring with eyes narrowed towards the sky, I followed her eyes and saw a flaming ball of stone hurling towards us. On the edge of my vision I saw the princess move, she took a large step forward before she spun into a crouch, then with a sudden burst of speed she lunged forward shooting her first towards the incoming missile. A brilliant burst of blue flame shot from her fist and hit the boulder mid-air in a colossal explosion that showered the deck with rubble.

 _Holy shit_

With that I decided it was time to get up and I staggered to my feet under the unfamiliar weight of my armour, I only made it a few steps before a loud cry cut through the haze of confusion in my mind. "PREPARE TO REPEL BOARDERS!" Turning I could see multiple grappling hooks attached to the railing of the barge and boarding ladders being set by the obviously smaller boats. Turning again I could see the princess had made it to a raised platform on the deck and was looking down on the offending craft with a scowl. I watched as she dropped slowly into a crouched stance, she shifted with unhurried movements, swinging one arm diagonally to her side, two fingers extended from each fist, then she moved both of her arms in steady circular movements. It was then that I noticed small bolts of energy trailing around her hands.

 _What the?_

She kept her arms moving in those circular motions, her face a mask of impassive concentration. The bolts of energy became larger and larger until the air around her was positively crackling with energy, when it seemed like the air could no longer contain all that energy, she moved. She shifted her stance, angling her body towards the closest boat, she took a small step forward and extended her two fingers forward.

Lightning flashed.

Thunder sounded.

The smell of ozone filled the air.

The enemy boat burst into a tower of flame.

 _Oh my god…_

It occurred to me then exactly why she would be chosen to lead this mission. Almost too late I realized just how long I had been standing transfixed by Azula's light show as a man clad in green armour came barrelling down on me swinging a spear, I moved without thinking, seven years of training came into play as I moved by sheer muscle memory. Obviously expecting to catch me unaware, he over-extended himself and ran straight into my elbow, the crunch of breaking bones was clear even over the sound of battle as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Looking up I found myself in the middle of a battle, my previous doubts about me surviving in a battle resurfaced before I shoved them away. I moved as another soldier thrust a spear at me, I felt the blade open a shallow cut across my ribs before I reached across and grabbed him by his chestplate and pulled him into a savage head-butt that sent him reeling as I tore the spear from his grip and brought it hard down on his head.

I don't know how long the battle progressed like this, I grabbed a man attempting to stab a downed red-clad soldier from behind before twisting and slamming him down on his head. I reached down to pull the soldier to his feet and realised it was Bao, he smiled and opened his mouth as if to thank me before a sword blade sprouted from his chest. I let out a feral cry as I surged forward to smash the Earth kingdom coward to the ground, I landed straddling him and felt his dagger cut across my arm after sliding off my pauldron, I roared in pain and anger before bringing my fist down on his face, once, twice, three times before snatching his dagger from his limp hand and stabbing down into his chest.

The full weight of what I'd done didn't seem to hit me, I surged to my feet, my heart pounding so loud I could barely hear the battle around me, I pulled my sword from its scabbard before charging the nearest green object, all finesse was forgotten as I roared again in rage. The man seemed to freeze in his spot as I came barrelling down on him, he barely lifted his sword before I crashed into him impaling him on my blade, the man's body went limp and tore the sword from my hand.

Time was forgotten as the battle raged on, the smell of charred flesh filled my nose almost causing me to gag. My heart was still pounding as if trying to escape my chest and everything felt so…hot, I could feel the heat inside my armour threatening to burn me. I remember a spear opening another gash on my leg, a mace that smashed into my breastplate and somewhere along the way a flying chunk of rock took my helmet clean off.

I could she Azula on the raised platform near the bridge fighting off a half dozen enemies simultaneously; flowing like water around chunks of stone and swinging blades and retaliating with deadly accuracy, plumes of azure flames licking out to consume those who were too slow. It occurred to me that they must be here to capture or kill her specifically…savages. As I moved through the melee I caught sight of Ty Lee weaving her way through, she ducked a swinging halberd, spinning gracefully into a kick that caught the man on the chin and dropped him like a sack of bricks, another moved forward with a dagger in hand, the same dagger falling from nerveless fingers as Ty Lee's arm flashed out, another flashing arm and the man fell to the ground unmoving. It was then that I noticed that she was standing close to one of the catapults or more specifically, barrels of oil they used to coat their projectiles, I watched helplessly as stray ball of flame connected with the barrels, the subsequent explosion threw all nearby fighters –including Ty Lee- to the ground. My legs became unstuck and I rushed forward…only to see an Earth kingdom soldier step forward with a snarl on his face and his spear raised.

I felt the same anger flare within me, these bastards were willing to kill teenage girls! To what end? I was too far away, I could only raise an arm in a vain attempt to will him to stop, I felt that same rage boil up from within me, the same heat that threatened to burn me from the inside seemed to flow as my arm shot forward…and a bright ball of flame shot forward to strike the man in the chest and send him over the railing of the ship.

I had no time to acknowledge what it was that I just did, the fighters who were stunned by the blast were beginning to rise. One rose shakily to his feet only to fall once more as my armour plated elbow connected with his head, another got a 'this is Sparta' kick to the chest that sent him falling through one of the holes in the deck caused by their bombardment. Even as I got to her Ty Lee was already back on her feet, an uncharacteristic glare on her face, we turned together to face the advancing earth soldiers only to see a massive blue fireball explode in their midst, joined by a series of smaller orange ones.

Looking around bewildered I saw that a group of imperial Fire benders had linked up with the princess and they were advancing down the deck in practiced formation. And just like that, the dam broke, the soldiers in green broke ranks and fled towards their boats and the battle turned to a slaughter.

I was aware that I had fallen to my knees, I could vaguely make out Ty Lee's voice but it all seemed to pale in importance as the events of the battle came crashing down on me, the people who had died…the people I had killed! _Oh god! What have I done!?_ My mind rebelled, trying to deny the memories stirring up. My stomach heaved, emptying its contents onto the deck beneath me, my body felt cold as I began to shiver. I felt a pair of arms surround me and a quiet voice whispering to me in a calming tone. That was the last thing I remembered before the darkness overcame me.

* * *

Azula, looked out with disgust as the earth kingdom ships fled, the cowards had known they were coming here and had prepared this ambush well, if it were not for the superior quality of soldier the Fire Nation boasted, they would have been overcome.

She turned to regard the deck of her ship, it was littered with the dead and dying, the smell of charred flesh and dead bodies was already filling the air and she quickly ordered the enemy dead to be thrown overboard and their own to be organised for their mass funeral. She scanned the crowd and quickly found the bright pink among the red and black, Ty Lee sat crouched holding Hunters unconscious body, the slow rise and fall of his body confirming him to be alive despite the amount of blood he was covered in.

The dark giant had surprised her yet again, she had lost track of him as the battle had started and a team of specialist soldiers came for her. By the time she had located him again he was tearing his way through the battle like a demon and roaring like a tiger-dillo…and then there was icing on the cake. She too had seen Ty Lee downed by the explosion, she had seen that Earth peasant raise his spear, she had been about to strike him down herself when the unexpected blast of fire from Hunter had send him flying to his death. It was unrefined and untrained but she felt the power there that marked him above the rest.

 _Yes…_ she thought to herself, considering the possibilities of having a personal triggerman. _You will do nicely._

* * *

The tree broke with a loud snap of splintering wood as a cart sized boulder crashed into it. The general was furious, all that preparation, all those lives, a perfect opportunity to capture a royal fire bitch to use as leverage or failing that, to remove on more high ranking fire monster from the world, all of it wasted!

"What in the name of the Face stealer happened!?" he roared at the battered men before him.

It was a while before the lieutenant stepped forward to explain. "Sir t-the attack started as planned but w-we did not expect such fierce resistance."

"Of course they were going to be fierce!" General Fong roared in return, "They were defending their princess! Did you think they would stand aside for you?"

"Sir, the princess was the fiercest of them all, she struck down an entire ship before we could even board!" One of the men cried out.

"SILENCE! I will not have you making excuses for failing to overcome a young teenage girl!" The general's temper was starting to overcome him, ever since the foolish child avatar had spurned his offer of help he had been more and more prone to fits of rage.

"Sir, they had a giant of a man there," Another voice cried, trying a new tactic. "He threw men around like they were children!"

General Fong had enough, he turned and stormed away from those cowards who called themselves soldiers giving the order that they all be sentenced to latrine duty and every other demeaning task that should arise.

He soon came to a halt on the shore line along sides the wreckages of his catapults, those Fire scum were far too accurate with their returning fire, and he regarded the Royal barge that was limping its way south.

 _This is not over you fire breathing scum._ He thought glaring as they disappeared into the distance.

* * *

A/N Again: I feel like i should also wish y'all a happy new year since i neglected to in my last update.


	5. Encounters of the childish kind

Gudday everyone, hope you're all enjoying your new year and for those of you back at work...i hope you're not too depressed.

As always feel free to make any suggestions or constructive criticisms :)

 **I don't own anything in the avatar verse. Can someone tell me if i actually need to put disclaimers up?**

* * *

I can see them.

I can feel them.

They seemed to continue on forever into the distance. They surround me like fireflies moving lazily through the space around me. It's at that moment I realize that the space surrounding me is dark, the only light I see is given by the tiny pricks of light and warmth that continue to move without pattern or obvious purpose. But the lights are not equal, some burn brighter and hotter than the others.

I close my eyes and I can feel a force, like threads, that connects all these points like a web spanning all existence. Focusing even further I feel the energy flowing around the web, flowing from the greater to lesser, feeding and sustaining those around them. And then I feel it, so distant and yet so powerful, connecting directly to the larger lights.

It's at that point I recognize it, the light, the warmth…it is fire. I feel it like I have felt the presence of all nearby fires since the ambush on the barge. But this is far, far larger than any I have felt before, even at the distance it is it puts any hundred of the close fires to shame, in fact it seemed to be the source of all the energy in the web.

As I allowed my senses to flow from flame to flame, I notice a disturbance in the web as if the energy had ceased to flow. All of a sudden the large flame I was mentally inspecting winked out of existence. Confused, I opened my eyes to a scene that could only be described as 'chaos', some flames were expanding beyond control, consuming those around them, some flared violently, destroying themselves and any unlucky enough to be nearby and some simply faded from existence, cut off from their sustaining energy.

Reaching out with the fire within me, I tried to halt the chaos around me but the fires didn't respond, in fact, it continued to worsen. I reached out to a nearby flame, one which had grown out of control, the moment my hand touched I felt a shock run through my body and a series of images flashed through my mind. I saw a man dressed in red and gold armor standing at the head of an army, I saw the army clash with one in green, I saw raging fires, I saw men crushed under giant boulders, I saw charred bodies on the streets.

Gasping, I snatch my hand back from the offending fire. I can see the chaotic show had evolved into a war, the larger fires clashing together in violent bursts of sparks often sweeping aside the smaller flames nearby, even without focusing I could feel the web connecting it all being torn asunder. Desperate, I reach out to grab a smaller flame and again images flash across my vision, I see a small farm surrounded by barren, dead land, I see a small family, thin with hunger. I stumble back, scrunching my eyes closed to ward off the visions but accidentally backing into another small flame.

I see a proud young man decked in red armor, I see his weeping mother reach out for him as he boards a large warship. I see the same young man's face white with fear as the earth surged around him, completely swallowing nearby men.

Panicking now, I duck and weave my way through the sea of colliding flame I ran for what felt like hours before the flames froze in place around me. A man emerged from the darkness in front of me, I could feel strands of the web connecting to him, I could feel the sheer power emanating from him. His skin was coal black, glowing orange lines crisscrossed his skin like miniature fissures, he wore a simple flowing toga of gold silk, his hair was pure white in contrast with his skin and a large crown of fire floated above his head. He simply stood there with his glowing gold eyes fixed on me before he spoke.

"Behold, the imbalance."

"Why am I here?" I ask. "What is all this?"

"My people. Your people. Save them." He stated, completely ignoring my questions.

"Who exactly is 'them'? How exactly do you propose I do this?" I ask, exasperated.

"Those of fire, they too must be saved." Comes the stoic, unhelpful reply.

And then he was gone.

The chaos began again, escalating until the sole surviving flame faded into oblivion, there was a strange noise, like the scuttle of hundreds of feet, there was a deep, booming laughter.

And I awoke.

* * *

I glared blearily around my room as the dawn light slowly illuminated my room. It was the most opulent room I had ever seen, let alone slept in, I guess there are perks to traveling with the princess of the most powerful nation in the world.

It was always the same dream, always the same figure and every time I have the dream I remember a little more when I awaken. I'm convinced now that whoever it is that speaks to me in that dream is the one responsible for bringing me here, what he wants from me I'm still not exactly sure, saving the people of fire? If he's referring to the Fire Nation then I'm still confused, they are winning this war.

With a sigh of annoyance I slip out of my bed and move to sit cross legged on the floor, thankfully the padded mats underneath me save me from the discomfort of sitting on cold metal. I reach out in front of me to pinch the wicks of the candles that surround me to set them alight and assumed the mediation position that Azula had shown me a week ago after the ambush. The damage the ship had taken during the attack had slowed our progress toward Omashu considerably, but we are supposed to arrive there today.

The last week has been a…difficult one for me, the fact that I had _killed_ people wouldn't leave me, especially when the time came to clean the blood off me; I don't think I've ever thrown up so much in a single day before and to make matters more confusing, I had noticed small but startling changes like my previously brown eyes now being a piercing gold. I spent the first day sulking in my room avoiding all contact with the world until the princess had come in and forcefully insisted I come out for firebending lessons. I suppose it's a good thing she did, it gave me something to distract myself with and would allow me to "make myself useful" next time as she so kindly put it.

The first thing she had taught me was the importance of breathing…all jokes aside, it turns out that they key to bending fire is in the breath more than anything else and so I now find myself here at this ungodly hour of the morning going through sets of breathing exercises, both standing and sitting while the early morning sun warms me. The exercises are actually very helpful, both in calming me down and in helping me learn to direct my chi.

Slowly I move into some of the more complicated movements, actual fire bending forms done a little slower to help me to maintain my breathing patterns while moving and to direct my 'chi' into punches and kicks, this not only allows firebending but also increases the power of these movements, this is apparently what makes Fire Nation commandos so dangerous.

Over the last week I had spent the majority of everyday practicing my firebending, I need to make sure that I'm ready for future battles, especially if these traitors we are hunting are as dangerous as everyone believes them to be, from the scuttlebutt I have heard on board the two of them took on the entire crew and managed to not only escape but defeat anyone they fought along the way, if I'm to be any good against them I need to be better. Fortunately it all seems to come quickly to me and I can feel myself getting stronger every day.

I feel a stab of guilt as I finish up my morning routine. I have been so obsessed with training that I've hardly spoken to Ty Lee or anyone aside from Azula for that matter and even then, it was only for help with firebending. It's not that I'm avoiding her, it's just…well…I'm not sure I can look her In the eye after what I did to those soldiers in the attack, she's like the very definition of non-lethal combat, the fact I know what I did was necessary doesn't help and it doesn't make me feel like less of a dirt bag. I'm sure that all the wanna be gangsters back home who loved to brag about how they'd kill anyone who 'fucks' with them are full of shit, the dead still haunt my sleeping hours and they don't show any signs of letting up.

Not for the first time I find myself doubting what I was doing here, I hate myself for killing those people even when they tried to kill us and now I'm going in pursuit of some of the most dangerous fugitives alive…but I can't bring myself to leave Ty Lee and the princess alone to do it, even surrounded by soldiers Ty Lee had almost died and I couldn't let anything happen to the first person to treat me with kindness since Joe and Sara.

With yet another internal sigh of frustration, I force those thoughts away and tried to focus on the future. We are due to arrive at the landing port for Omashu this morning where we'll make our way up to the city proper, according to what Ty Lee was saying before the ambush we are supposed to recruit one more member for this traitor hunter squad.

To be honest I'm feeling a little like an extra wheel on this little high school reunion of theirs.

* * *

Her aura was darker than usual, the normal vibrant pink had dimmed somewhat and had turned slightly murky. Most people didn't take her talk of auras seriously as Ty Lee had found in her decade and a half of experience and she was fine with that, it gave her an edge when it came to speaking with people and even in battle it help her to predict her opponents.

But at the present time all this wonderful gift was able to tell her was that she was in a particularly glum mood which was a considerably useless tidbit of information as she was well aware of how she was feeling and she knew exactly why, what she needed was a solution but that was where she was stuck.

Hunter has been on edge ever since the ambush and Ty Lee was worried for him. He spent the first day locked in his room in a self-imposed exile before Ty Lee had convinced Azula to drag him out under the pretense of firebending training. The fact he could firebend was a complete shock to her and she could only imagine how he must feel about it, she could remember not even two weeks ago when he had laughed at the thought of 'magic fire dancing' as he had put it, the irony of his situation was not lost on her.

Unfortunately, this didn't really seem to help him much as he spent the next few days actively avoiding everyone in favour of what was perhaps the most intense training regime she had ever seen, his only interaction was with those who he convinced to watch him practice his forms or to spar with him. Every day less people wanted to spar with him.

Not for the first time she wondered how, in such a small time, Hunter had come to have such an effect on her, they had known each other for a few days before Azula had arrived and yet, he was constantly on her mind, whether it be his slightly sarcastic sense of humor or the way he stumbled over his words whenever he got nervous, she found her thoughts constantly turning to him. However she now found her thought constantly turning to him in worry, he was not acting like the Hunter that had arrived in that forest not two weeks ago.

Even now as they began the walk from the docks up to the city proper she noticed him lagging behind the group, his face downcast, obviously lost in his thoughts. She glanced at the palanquin holding Azula and her escort of imperial firebenders before deciding her presence was not required upfront and she slowed down to fall in beside Hunter.

"So…how's your 'magic fire dancing' going?" she asked, with a weak attempt at humor. "You've been practicing even more than Azula lately."

Hunter gave a slight jump of surprise not having even noticed her approach. "Ah…y-yeah, Azula said I needed to control it then learn to use it, then I'll be more prepared for when we meet those traitors." He said, obviously uncomfortable.

"So is that why you've been so hard to talk to?" Ty Lee responded deciding to cut to the chase.

Hunter sighed with a meek, chastised look on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck, this had the unfortunate consequence of causing the muscles on his arm to ripple almost causing her to miss his next words. "Yeah, I'm sorry Ty Lee…I just needed some time to sort myself out you know? I didn't want to have to deal with anyone judging me at the same time."

"Judging you?" The circus girl asked, confused. "Why would anyone be judging? Everyone was impressed with you after the attack."

"Why would they be? I couldn't stop being sick afterwards! I felt like I was going to go crazy…Lee, I killed those people! How can you talk to me like I'm normal?" It was fortunate that they had begun to lag a considerable distance behind the main party as Hunter's voice had risen considerably by then end.

"Hunter, they attack us, you didn't have a choice!" She stated trying to calm him.

"I know that!" he burst out before taking a deep breath and looking away. "I know that Ty Lee, but it doesn't help at all…I _wanted_ to hurt them and I did, and now I see them every time I go to slee-"

He was cut off as Ty Lee enveloped him in a tight hug that lasted for almost a minute before she stepped back and looked him up in the eye. "You're the only one judging you and that just means that you're a good person." She could see his aura brighten visibly with that. "Besides you're not so cute when you're upset."

This just left Hunter red cheeked and stuttering before they both noticed how far they were falling behind.

The rest of the journey passed by quickly with some light conversation that had Ty Lee feeling like they were getting back to the pre-ambush state, Hunter was smiling and making random comments about things he found strange while keeping his voice ow enough so that only she could hear.

Eventually they arrived in the city itself and found it to be unnaturally quiet for a city of its size, the few green clad citizens that were out and about moved quickly and gave them wide berth, in fact she could see more red uniforms than anything else. As their party moved up to the higher tiers of the city she could see more signs of the Firenation's presence, hastily set up iron factories and towers, make shift barracks to house the soldiers, the only people she saw now were peeking at them from their windows and she couldn't help but feel that something was off here.

Ty Lee was so consumed by the city around her she almost failed to notice that they had arrived at the palace and she could hardly contain her excitement as her eyes found the lone figure waiting to greet them.

Slowly Azula stepped out of her palanquin and started towards the robed girl that awaited them. The girl took in the approaching princess and her party with an impassive stare before offering a polite bow bent at exactly the right angle as she spoke, " _Please_ tell me you're here to kill me.

There was a second pause before she tilted her head up ever so slightly as a small smile broke her otherwise emotionless face and both girls began to laugh.

"Oh it's great to see you Mai." The princess said, placing her hands on Mai's shoulders.

Deciding that etiquette could now be thrown out the window, Ty Lee ran forward and leaped to engulf her old friend in a bear hug, earning herself an awkward pat on the back.

"I thought you had run off to join the circus. You said it was your calling." Mai stated still caught Ty Lee's deceptively strong grip.

Ty Lee stepped back and Mai caught a slight shadow of emotion pass across her face before that ever present smile returned. "Well, Azula called a little louder."

Mai turned her gaze from her friends and saw that Azula's palanquin bearers and body guard's leaving towards the barracks leaving only a strange man standing alone fidgeting as if unsure where he should be. He looked like no one Mai had ever seen before, his eyes were rounder and lacked the normal angles she was familiar with and his skin was a dark brown that was even darker than the Water tribe girl from almost a week ago. As she looked she realized that the man was in fact her age, his size belying his age.

Her inspection was cut off as Ty Lee noticed her staring and she bounced off to grab him by the arm and began to pull him over. "Mai, this is Hunter! He's my friend from the circus and he's coming with us!"

Mai gave sent a questioning look over to Azula who shot one back as if to say 'I'll explain later' before she spoke, "I have a mission and I need each of you with your unique skill-sets."

Mai looked up at the palace decked with Firenation banner in annoyance. "Oh count me in, anything to get me out of this place."

Azula smiled. "Splendid, then let us retire for a moment, I for one would enjoy some refreshments." She glanced over to Hunter, "we'll also need some equipment made for our friend here, he doesn't quite fit his…anything."

The boy in question looked down at his ill-fitting shirt before shrugging in agreement.

Azula turned back to face Mai, "And I think I need to have a little chat with your parents."

* * *

Katara was nervous, thing have only gone from bad to worse since they had left the North Pole. First they had met with that psychotic general Fong, gotten trapped underneath a mountain trying to avoid the Firenation only to find they had already taken Omashu, now they were perched up here on large scaffolding surrounding the incomplete statue of the most horrible living man in the world! Such a terrible string of events had left a bad taste in her mouth and the feelings of foreboding she was experiencing now were doing nothing to help.

She glanced over her collection of allies, Aang was waiting with an uncharacteristic frown etched on his features obviously impatient for his friend's freedom, a loose fitting hat was all that guarded his identity. Sokka stood slightly behind her and Aang, the baby Tom-Tom sat in his arms pointing to random objects while making curious noises and on either side of him was a member of the resistance here to both 'protect' them and ensure Bumi's safety.

Finally she saw a group arriving at their position, it was a group of four people led by that same knife throwing girl from when they first arrived, the daughter of the governor. To one side walked a slightly smaller girl with what could only be described as an elegant strut, she was likely another noble, she wore a polished set of armor but carried no visible weapons; the hallmarks of a firebender.

The figure to the left was yet another young girl, she was dressed in a strange pink outfit that left her midriff bare and she looked around with a large grin to match even Aang's best. The final person was the odd one out being the only boy in the group, his skin was a dark brown where theirs was pale white and where they were all about average height, he towered above everyone on the platform, even the men from the resistance would barely reach his chin. He too was dressed in a shining set of Firenation style armor although his didn't look quite as ornate.

Her thoughts were cut off by the grinding of metal as a large coffin shaped object was lowered down behind their opposing party, it wasn't until they heard the eccentric voice and snorting laughter that she realized Bumi was inside of it, only his head visible.

"You brought my brother?" Asked the leading girl, her face an impassive mask, her tone carrying no inflection whatsoever. Katara decided something was very wrong about these four.

"He's here, we're ready to trade." Aang replied while stepping forward.

Suddenly the armored girl to the right spoke out, prompting a short exchange of words between them before she stepped forward and raised her voice.

"We're trading a two year old for a king, a powerful earthbending king?" she said, glancing at Bumi who only nodded his head with the same simpleton grin on his face. "It just doesn't seem like a fair trade now does it?"

Indignation flashed through Katara's mind before the original speak stepped forward and declared the deal off she barely opened her mouth to protest the breaking of the deal before Aang dashed forward crying out Bumi's name as the king as hoisted into the air once more.

There was a brilliant flash of blue flame that Aang only barley dodged by airbending himself high into the air leaving the firebender staring shocked as he seeming defied gravity and pushed off the statue scaffolding opening his glider midway, unfortunately the sudden change in direction tore the hat completely from Aang's head.

"The avatar!" the firebending girl exclaimed, before smiling smugly and running off in pursuit.

Looking back at the Firenation party she saw that the pink clad girl had vanished and the knife thrower had pulled a set of vicious blades while the larger boy looked around seemingly confused at what was going on.

"Sokka, we've got to get the baby out of here!" Katara cried, taking a bending position.

"Way ahead of ya!" he replied, waving around the bison whistle before Tom-Tom grabbed it from his hands.

The two resistance members stepped forward, bringing their weapons to bear before one of them turn to address them. "Go! We can take them, get the child out of here."

She and Sokka were almost at the end of the scaffolding before a small fist shot up from a hole in the boards to strike Sokka's foot sending him crashing to the ground narrowly avoiding falling from the platform, the previously missing pink clad girl shot up out the same hole, rushing towards Sokka. Thinking fast she took a stance and whipped her hand out sending a ribbon of water to encircle the girls leg halting her just feet away from her brother, with a smooth step and a flick of her arm she send the offending girl flying back towards the resistance fighters who were engaged in a heated battle with the knife wielding girl.

But where was the-

A burst of bright flame announced the large boy as he came running towards her, she didn't know how someone so big had managed to get so close without her noticing and she lunged forward sending a snake-like whip of water at him which only barely dodged by throwing himself out of the way, the water whip grazing the shoulder plate of his armor. He glanced down at his now missing pauldron before looking up at her wide eyed prompting a smirk from Katara.

She only had a split second's warning as his eyes narrowed and he shot to his feet like a viper and send another brilliant burst of gold flame her way.

"Who are you people?" Katara called as she sent another whip of water at him which was countered by a small burst of flame.

"Why does it matter?" he asked with sincere confusion on his face. "Just give us the kid, aren't you a little young for kidnapping infants?"

 _Oh no you don't._ Katara thought as she spun and brought her hands down bringing her water whip down to crash into the ground as he jumped to the side. _Damn he's fast._

"Aren't you a little young for world domination?" she shot back.

This actually made him pause to send her a confused stare. "What the hell are you on about?" he shot back kicking a succession of fireballs at her, the continuous flashes of light obscuring her vision.

She never got a chance to answer as she felt a large hand clamp down on her wrist, The Firebender had used his fire to cover his approach. She looked up to see his with his arm upraised, his fist at the ready before he hesitated. Not taking any chances he would change his mind, she kicked out striking him in the groin before tearing her arm free and stepping back. She raised her hand, hardening a ribbon of water into ice a prepared to bring it down on him when she felt something jab her just besides her neck, she spun to see the pink girl behind her and lashed out with her fist in an attempt to backhand her only to hit air as she spun gracefully underneath her she felt another few jabs strike her at various places before she managed to slip away from her.

The pink girl didn't pursue instead moving to help up her comrade who shot her a smug look as he got back to his feet. Deciding to wipe that smile off his face, Katara focused on the water spilled on the ground around her, she drew back her arm willing the water to form into another deadly whip…

…only to feel it slip from her control. She tried again, only to see the water raise a few inches from the floor before collapsing once more, she looked up shocked at the girl who had done this to her to find that the knife throwing girl had joined them as they all took battle stances.

"How are you going to fight without your bending?" the Knife thrower mocked, pulling a sai from her robes as Katara stumbled back another few step in fear.

Suddenly the sai was knocked from her grip as a flash of blue and white struck her arm followed by the voice of her brother. "I seem to manage!" he shouted, snatching the returning boomerang from the air while Appa came crashing down on the scaffolding between her and her foes and with one swing of his mighty tail, sent the three Firenation warriors flying from the platform.

"All passengers for air Sokka please come aboard!" her brother crowed, a large grin plastered on his face.

Even as they flew away, she could see the three figured hanging from various beams of wood. The same sense of foreboding told her this was not the last she would see of them.

* * *

"Sooooo…come here often?"

Ty Lee turned her gaze upwards to hunter as she clung to one of his hands, the other clutched onto a support beam and was currently all that was supporting them over a nasty drop to the courtyard below.

Her reply was to cock her brow questioningly to which he chuckled before continuing, "I'm gonna swing you up here on the count of three alright? You're starting to get heavy."

"Ok." She replied, she didn't want to wait around and see how long he could hold them both up with one arm.

"Just don't drop her, it'll take _forever_ to find another peppy pink chi blocker." Mai added from her position stuck on her stomach on the fork of two support struts.

"Absolutely stellar advice my good friend." Hunter replied before beginning the countdown.

On three a swung his arm and Ty Lee easily used the momentum to flick herself up to grab onto the same support beam leaving them hanging face to face, their noses almost touching.

"Why hello." She said playfully.

"If you two love birds could finish up soon, I'd like to be back on solid ground today, preferably before Azula comes back throwing lightning around." Came Mai's voice once more.

Ty Lee glanced over to her before turning back to Hunter who was grinning. "Well, one of us should go hel-" he managed before he was cut off as Ty Lee darted forward to press her lips to his.

It was less than a second but it was almost enough to make hunter loose his grip and he scrambled to regain his hand holds as she effortlessly swung herself across the scaffolding towards her friend, giggling all the way.

Even as far away as he was he could hear Mai sigh.

* * *

 **A/N:** Soooo after a series of super fast updates i finally settle down a little. There has been quite alot of travel lately with family coming over from all over the place and i haven't had any time to do any writing, but things have settled down now and school doesn't start for another month so we'll see how much more i can crank out before University cripples me.

I can now see my reviews so ill be sure to respond to any questions or advice :)

To my panda loving friend - Rooting for the bad guys is exactly what I'm going for right now :) I really want to explore the idea of someone being thrust into a war where both sides are committing evils and picking the 'wrong' side without knowing, i think it's a lot more interesting than another story where one joins up with the gaang...not to say i don't like any of those stories.

As always, thanks for reading and I'll see y'all next time


	6. Sparring, Rodeo and late night talks

**Bom dia everyone! I'm back! As always Thanks for coming, Read and Review!**

 **Insert same old, perhaps unnecessary disclaimer**

* * *

Step…feint…lunge…roundhouse.

A truly strange combination of blows in my experience, especially since the man in question stood almost five meters away.

However the vast majority of my experience has not been with imperial fire benders.

The aforementioned roundhouse kick was accompanied with an impressive wave of fire that spanned the distance between us, the lunge that preceded the kick had also sent a streak of flame towards me; the combination of the two was quite brilliantly designed to first force one into a defensive stance and therefore limit the ability to dodge the following kick and fire wave, it worked very well against earth benders and their firmly rooted stances, not quite as effectively against water benders and their fast flowing forms, but against fire benders and their lack of defensive blocks? It was devastating.

However, I am not a normal fire bender.

With a move showcased most by MMA fighters I turn while raising my guard up as if to ward off an actual blow but unlike said fighters I exhale sharply and bring down my arm in sharp motion bisecting his flame with my own. Taking advantage of the momentary lull in combat I take a quick step forward and snap off two quick fireballs followed by my own straight kick that shot a more powerful stream of flame at my opponent's midsection.

He batted away the first two flames as I expected but was caught off guard by the stream that followed and resorted to rolling clear before quickly regaining his feet and circling me once more.

My opponent was Captain Shen, the commander of Princess Azula's guard, which I find to be exceptionally humorous as she has thus far demonstrated a complete lack of need for any assistance in battle. I suppose it's more a show of strength than anything else. That being said, the Captain was not by any means a poor fire bender, in fact, he was one of the most accomplished of the royal guard and the only one Azula herself will spar against.

True to his reputation, he snapped back into action with a wicked combination of fire balls, prompting me to duck and dodge more than anything else. He managed to keep at it for another minute before finally halting his relentless barrage leaving me panting in the afternoon sun, sweat dripping down my body. Tentatively I sent a flash of fire his way only to be met by a familiar set of movements.

Step, feint, lunge, roundhouse.

Employing the same set of blocks from before I decide to change my avenue of attack by ending in a roundhouse of my own sending the largest wave of fire I could manage, using the distraction that comes with having a wall of flame hurl towards you, I close the distance between us while sending a series of smaller fire burst aimed at his feet in an attempt to break his stance and rob him of his ability to perform more power powerful fire bending forms.

Unfortunately for me, decades of training and experience came into play for him and he skilfully evaded all my attacks without losing balance and he snapped out a fiery kick to ward me off. But while my initial offensive was not successful, my main goal of engaging in close quarters was. I threw out a combination of fiery punches, careful to reign back the power to non-maiming levels, to which he stepped back trying to make space between us, in fact every move I made forward was evaded as he threw sharp jabs and kicks to try force me away.

My face may have been impassive enough to pass as a relative of Mai but internally I was grinning like a fool, in every spar or fight I have been in with a bender I have noticed one striking similarity…they don't really know anything else. Of course there are exceptions to this rule such as the Princess but on the whole, benders spend so much time getting their forms right that they neglect other important skills.

Exhilarated to find even one such as the captain still had a vital weakness I surged forward just as Joe had drilled into me since I began training, I let lose a series of punches, with only to barest of flames so as to not harm him while none too gently knocking aside any attempts he made at attacking. Eventually he realized that I was in my element and he needed to disengage and get some distance.

I threw an intentionally wide punch and he stepped out of the way, I saw the muscles in his shoulders tense as if to throw a punch but he instead feinted and stepped back before lunging forward with a flaming fist extended.

It was exactly what I was waiting for. Step, feint, lunge…

I saw it coming, I saw him plant his foot and spin, I saw his body tense in preparation to bring his foot scything across; the foot began its arc towards my head…only to flail in shock as I snapped out my own kick to take his planted leg out from under him the moment he lifted the other from the ground.

That was all the opportunity I needed to pounce on him while he lay momentarily stunned on his back, I landed straddling his waist with one hand holding his neck and the other upraised and wreathed in flame.

We stayed in that position, panting with exertion for a few moments as we began to chuckle at each other before a small clap interrupted us. Both of our eyes shot towards the source of the sound only to find the Princess herself gazing at us with her default 'unreadable' look; a small smile playing on her lips.

"Bravo, I must say that was quite the performance." She says as she makes her way towards us.

Instantly Shen and I shoot to our feet, Shen going to attention with his fist clenched over his heart. "Hunter is indeed becoming a formidable fire bender, his unique combat style makes his fire bending quite unpredictable." He states, eyes forward.

"Indeed." The princess replies before turning her gaze to me. "Tell me Hunter, how did you manage to best the greatest of my fire benders?"

That caught me off-guard, "Um, well it was only a spar so I don't think I would hav-" I started before the look on her face cut me off, "…He's by far the better bender and I wouldn't have stood a chance in that alone but I've noticed that benders don't have much training in close combat where they can't use their bending effectively, up close and personal is my area of expertise. I also noticed he favors a certain set of moves, so when I got in close I provoked him into using it so I could trap him."

I noticed Shen looking at me in surprise, he obviously hadn't anticipated how far I thought ahead. It did however seem that Azula _had_ noticed, it was scary how little got past this girl.

"Very good, you are making commendable progress." She said. _What kind of fourteen year old talks like this?_

"Thank you Princess, there's still a lot left to learn but I can feel way more confident." I reply quite proud of myself.

"Indeed. Now, I'm sorry to interrupt your lesson but I'm afraid there are things I must discuss with you, Mai and Ty Lee." She stated, indicating the entrance to the palace.

"No problem, I think we were just about done anyway." I say smiling as I move to pick up my discarded shirt.

It was only a few minutes before I found myself in what I dubbed 'The war room', Mai and Ty Lee were already there waiting for us, the former sat picking her nails with an ever present dagger; an equally ever present impassive mask on her face, the latter stood in a perfect handstand, evenly balanced on a single finger of each hand. I couldn't help but smile at the sight, these careless displays of acrobatics always lightened my mood.

"Now we are all here, we can discuss our next move." Azula began as she unfurled a large map on a nearby table. "Clearly our original mission still stands yet a target as important as the Avatar cannot be ignored."

That caught my attention, those kids were certainly a handful but what was so important about them that we would ditch the original mission?

My inner dialogue must've shown on my face because Azula's next words were directed at me. "Thoughts Hunter?"

"Sorry, I just don't understand the importance of capturing a pre-teen kid when we were already hunting dangerous traitors." I respond.

"Young and foolish the Avatar may be but he is _the_ most dangerous enemy of the Fire Nation, he has already demonstrated such." She replies, thankfully without any anger at me having questioned her.

"Really? But he's just a kid, how did he manage that?"

Azula stared at me for a second before jabbing her finger down on the map pointing at the icy mass of the North Pole. "This is the Northern Water tribe, one of the two remaining enemy strongholds. A newly promoted Admiral was convinced of a grave threat from this tribe which had up until recently been quite inactive in the war, when the Avatar fled towards the pole the Admiral's request for an invasion fleet was approved to prevent said tribe from becoming an active threat in the war effort."

She looked up from the map to stare me directly in the eyes. "His tactics were sub-standard yet he still brought to bear the largest naval fleet since the sea wolves almost a millennia ago and should have had no trouble bringing them to heel. The few survivors we found all told the same story of the Avatar himself raising a leviathan from the water to wipe our soldiers from the ground then crushing our ships with a single tsunami wave. Hundreds of ships sunk, over ten thousand dead. Do not forget that while he is a child he is also the single most powerful bender in the world when he accesses the avatar state."

"Shit." Was the only word that my brain was able to spit out.

"Indeed, so while our original mission is still active we will first pursue the avatar and his…company, In fact, this has the added benefit of aiding our original mission, where the Avatar is, my brother is never far behind." She finished with a satisfied smile on her face.

"So where do we start then?" Mai asked, still leaning back casually in her seat while absentmindedly twirling a knife.

"That is the current problem." The Princess replied, a small frown forming on her face as she peered down at the map. "His bison makes pursuit difficult, we cannot rely on reported sighting like my dear brother or we will always be a step behind as he was."

"Uh…question?" I ventured, raising my hand slightly, continuing as she nodded at me. "If he fled to the north-pole, why would he then leave?"

"He was certainly seeking a waterbending master there, once he mastered water he would have left in search of a…" she trailed off slightly before continuing. "Ah and there we have his reason for being here, who better to train him in earthbending than the king of Omashu?"

Reaching over I pulled the map a little closer to me and pointed at the impossibly large city labelled 'Ba sing se', the last major unconquered city, "Then wouldn't he head here to find another one since his first choice is now gone?" I asked.

"That would be the most likely choice" The Princess agreed, "But he has shown thus far a remarkable lack of directness in his travels" She indicated a faint set of lines drawn on the map from Kyoshi island zigzagging up the western coast, "Scouts report that he fled south so we can assume that they'll turn and follow the mountains up towards Ba sing se, possibly stopping at the major townships along the way."

"But how are we going to catch them on their bison Azula?" Ty Lee's voice from right beside me nearly made me jump, I swear, these three girls are ninjas.

The princess favoured her with a grin as she fully raised herself up. "That's a good question, why don't I show you all? I do believe it is ready for us." She said before turning to leave, obviously expecting us to follow. Somewhere behind me I heard Mai sigh once more.

The palace seemed to be a bit of a mess at the moment, I thought to myself as we made our way through its halls, with many of the doors being activated by earthbending it looks like the governor decided to simply knock some of the walls down…Also, the red banners clashed really badly with the green walls, just saying…

After a few more minutes of roaming the palace we arrived in the rear courtyards where all the supplies were brought in and my eyes near bulged out me head when I saw what awaited us. In a world of small ostrich drawn carts, this thing was a monster, painted pitch black, it just oozed badassery and the sheer size of the…Train….Tank…Thingy in front of me was amazing, I couldn't even begin to imagine how it would work in this technology challenged world.

"Impressive is it not?" Came the princess's voice, "A marvel of Firenation ingenuity and while it lacks the speed of our smaller tanks it's certainly fast enough to keep up with a certain flying bison."

"This thing looks like it could carry half your guard in there." I agreed still awestruck by what was essentially a more ferocious looking steam train on tank tracks.

"In short distances It could but it has only enough supplies for the four of us and our mounts." She replied, turning to face Ty Lee. "I suppose you'll like them."

And like them she did, if her squeal of joy was any indication as we entered the rear of the train and saw the four large lizards that I assumed would serve as our mounts, having never ridden an animal before in my life I could safely say I was not savouring the prospect.

"Ah, Princess?" I asked, thinking it was probably better to let her know of my lack of experience in this area. "I've never ridden a…" I stopped realising I had no idea what they were even called.

"A mongoose lizard?" She asks, "No, I suppose you wouldn't have…well ill have a servant show you how." She said raising her hand and snapping her fingers.

"Wait, what…now?" I stuttered.

"Of course now." She replied with a smirk. "So learn fast, we leave tomorrow."

Now let it be said that the royal servants are extremely good at what they do, one moment I'm standing there gaping at the princess like a fish and the next I'm perched atop one of the aforementioned giant lizards with no recollection of how exactly I arrived at this point. I see the three girls standing a fair distance away with expressions that can only be described as near sadistic expectancy, it did not inspire confidence in me.

"So…what's the key to riding one of these?" I asked the stable hand below me.

"Riding a mongoose lizard like Ling here does take a little practice, they're far faster than komodo rhinos and they have a tendency to make sharp turns." He began while placing my feet into the stirrups. "Just keep your back straight, don't yank on the reigns and try to feel the rhythm to her movements, it'll help you to stop slamming your ass on the saddle."

"Oh, ok then. So how do I get her to start?"

He took a few steps back and looked up at me before replying, "Ling is well trained, just give a slight flick on the reigns and say go."

 _Alrighty then…here. We. Go._ "Go ling!" I say loudly as I flick my wrists. I wasn't sure what to expect having never ridden an animal before, I saw the lizards head perk up, I felt its muscles flex under my legs, I felt the jerk as she shot forward….and I felt the ground rise up to meet me as I landed in a slight daze staring up at the bright afternoon sky.

 _This is not going to be pleasant._

* * *

' _Agni, for such a big guy, Hunter was rarely an easy one to find_ ' Ty Lee thought as she strolled through the palace grounds that night. Azula and Mai had both retired for the night and left her to entertain herself and while this was never a problem for her, she was in a talkative mood tonight. She had checked Hunter's chambers thinking to find him still there after his rather embarrassing lessons in riding earlier that day, even Mai had cracked a smile while watching him get thrown multiple times from the saddle; yet he was nowhere to be found and so Ty Lee found herself out on one of the many garden paths savouring the night wondering just where a giant like Hunter could possibly be hiding himself.

She had almost completely circled the palace when she heard a voice carry through the night.

" _It's been a long day without you my friend and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again…"_

Turning her head from side to side only to find that it was coming from _above_ her. She glanced around and saw tree leaning towards the palace roof and within seconds she had scaled it and leapt onto the roof, her suspicions were confirmed when she made out Hunter's figure lying on the roof tiles looking up at the night sky.

"… _I'll be waiting right here for you till the day you're home, Carry on…"_

Something about the song stopped her from approaching right away, she had heard a lot of the music from his nation on his little music pod before it had run out of power- she didn't really know what he meant by that, she just hoped he found it some power soon, she missed it already- but she had never heard Hunter himself sing, the emotion in his voice gave weight to the song and she just stood there as he sang.

"… _so let the light guide your way. Hold every memory as you go. And every road you take, will always lead you home, home, home… it's been a long day without you my friend and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again, we've come a long way from where we began and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again…"_

Ty Lee was unsure of what exactly to do, Hunter had thus far proven difficult to talk to when emotional and from the sound of his voice, he was most definitely emotional right now, however her life was dictated by her curiosity and drive to help people see the happy side of life and she soon found herself standing and looking down on him as he lay there with his eyes closed.

"That was a nice song" she said eventually when he didn't seem to notice her.

In hindsight, it perhaps wasn't the best course of action to have taken being perched up on a slanted roof. Hunter shot upwards into the air as if he had been struck by Azula's lightning before falling into a barely controlled roll down the roof, it was only Ty Lee's quick reflexes that saved him from yet another impromptu meeting with the earth.

"Jesus Ty Lee! Can't you give a guy a warning?" he asked in an indignant voice.

She at least had the grace to look embarrassed as she helped him into a sitting position. "Sorry, I didn't think I'd scare you that much".

"Hey! I wasn't…well it was more…damn ninja." he finished awkwardly.

"What's a ninja?" Ty Lee asked, curious to hear about anything from his home.

"Really? You guys don't have ninjas here? I would have thought with the whole…never mind, ninjas are pretty much legends where I'm from, known for being unnaturally sneaky." He replied, seemly not wanting to give a full explanation.

"Oh, I guess I can see why'd you say that" She said giggling before continuing, "That song, Is it another one from your home?"

His face fell at the mention of it and she wondered if it was the right thing to ask, fortunately he took a deep breath and forced a small smile.

"It's a slight variation of one of the more popular songs of the last few years." He began, looking up at the sky. "It was written in the memory of a famous actor who died in an accident and it was played at the end of his….show, it got really popular after that." He trailed off as if deciding whether to continue.

"It's ok if you don't want to talk about it." She said, seeing she was touching on a sensitive issue.

"No, it's about time I told someone I guess…The night I came here was like a bad dream, I got home and had a big fight with my dad and It didn't end well…after that it's hazy, I remember running to the first place I could think of, My best friend owned a martial arts gym and he was supposed to be there waiting for me anyway…."

She could see his jaw clench tightly as he struggled to reign in his emotions. "He wasn't there, which if you knew Joe, you'd know was not right, he's always on time and he always does what he says he will…he said he'd be there…so I ran to his house, it wasn't really that far away but when I got there I couldn't even see the house properly though the crowd, there were police - I mean guards…" He took another deep breath. "They told me he had just died in his sleep, He wasn't old, he wasn't sick! It didn't make sense and I wasn't thinking right so I just…ran. I ran and I kept running until I didn't even recognize where I was and I could barely stand up and well…I told you the rest."

"Sitting up here reminds me of when we used to sit on the roof of his gym and look at the stars, it was one of his favourite things to do. The stars here are so much nicer even if I don't recognize them but still, it just made me think of him, it's only been a handful of weeks but it feels longer."

Carefully Ty Lee sat down beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I…I don't know what to say Hunter." She started, "But you have friends here now to help when you need it too, Mai doesn't show it on her face but she's secretly a very caring person."

Surprisingly that got a genuine grunt of laughter from Hunter. "Well I know you're my friend, it's still a little early to say for Mai and I don't think the Princess knows what friends are sometimes but I appreciate it." He turned and graced her with a small smile. "How about you explain to me which stars are which?"

"Oh boy, where do I start?" Ty Lee replied, flashing her trademark grin.

* * *

Hey Everyone! I guess in comparison to most stories this isn't terrible late but i'm still sorry it took this long. The metaphorical Sh*t has hit the fan multiple times since the last update and with the start of Uni, Finding time to write has been hard. I wont promise that updates will be more regular but i will do my best :)

Pretty much a filler chapter as i don't want to neglect developing the characters in a rush to show the more action packed scenes. I plan on showing a lot more from Azula's perspective and possibly exploring Mai's character more.

As always, any input is welcome, any comments on how i can improve just throw em my way...assuming they're phrased nicely.


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